What A Treasure You Wish For
by Stars to Ami
Summary: Everyone gets their own genie in a lamp when they turned seventeen. Annabeth had been waiting to get her genie since forever and knew the rules off by heart. Nine wishes then your genie dies. Never ask your genie any questions. Don't fall in love with your genie. It was simple. Or so she thought, until one day her genie told her he wanted to escape his lamp.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the PJO characters.**

**This is an AU! I hope it gets you interested :)**

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Chapter One

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"I made my first wish."

Annabeth dropped the pen she held, whipping around to face her best friend who stood over her with a grin. The sun showed brightly behind him and she squinted to see the outline of his curly hair. They were at school during their lunch break, sitting on the ground by their favorite tree in the garden.

"What was the wish?"

Leo sat himself down next to Annabeth. "Look at my teeth."

When Leo was young, he chipped his front tooth by falling off a skateboard. Now, Annabeth was looking at a row of perfect, pearly white teeth. His lips curled over it and hid the teeth from her view. The shine in his eyes was enough for Annabeth to tell how his confidence sky rocketed. He had been insecure of his teeth for as long as she remembered.

"What happened?" Annabeth urged. "When you made the wish?"

"My genie, Hazel, went super bright and then everything around me went blurry. And then the next second it was all gone and I ran to the mirror and I saw these gorgeous babies!" He gestured to his teeth. "Now Thalia can't say no to me for the Christmas Ball!"

"I don't think your new teeth are going to change Thalia's mind."

"Nonsense. I'm perfect-er now."

Annabeth gazed out towards the park benches lined one after the other in the open-roofed area of the cafeteria. Thalia Grace, Leo's newest crush, sat with her teammates who were on the girl's gymnastics team with her. She was an odd ball on the team with her dark hair, heavily lined eyes, and fierce nature but one of the best the school had. Annabeth herself had never joined any sports.

"Now I just have to figure out how to ask her out," Leo babbled on. "How do you think I should do it? Come to school in a suit? Maybe make another wish?"

"You can't wish for love, remember?"

Leo deflated. "Ugh. I'll figure out something." He piped up a second later. "Are we going out today to celebrate your Coming?"

Annabeth smiled. She turned seventeen during the school holidays on July 12 and exactly four months after the seventeenth birthday, everyone got their own personal genie. Leo got his own genie, some girl named Hazel, a few months ago. He hadn't separated himself from her lamp since then. Even now, Annabeth could see his genie, Hazel's, silver lamp sitting out of the front pocket of his backpack. Overtime, people had started referring to the day seventeen-year-olds received their genies as their Coming.

"I don't know. Maybe I want to befriend my genie after I get him or her."

"It'll be great," Leo declared. "The first few days after I got Hazel, I was rubbing her lamp every second. I was so excited."

"Do you know what your second wish will be?"

Leo pursed his lips. "I have ideas but I don't think I'm going to be making another one anytime soon. Sometimes I wish I knew the future so I could use my wishes at the right time. I heard of this girl in our neighbourhood who used all nine of her wishes on the same day and her genie died. The next day, she was alone at home when someone tried robbing her house and if she had her genie, she could've wished for something to save herself with."

"Where'd you hear that bluff story?"

"Shh, everyone knows the story!"

"Oh?"

"Yep. Her name was Crystal. A cute one too. She was in our grade but got transferred to a different school after the robbery."

"How convenient."

Leo shook Annabeth's shoulder playfully and Annabeth batted his hand away. "You're so boring! Honestly, what are you even doing?"

Annabeth gestured to the biology book open on her lap. Diagrams of the human body were glossed onto the pages with definitions and names of parts that made her head swim. She wasn't even sure why she took biology in the first place. Annabeth's dream was to be an architect (because pillars and columns were totally designed on the ergonomics of a rat heart).

"Oh you have that biology test? I had it this morning."

"How was it?"

"I think I flunked it."

"So nothing unusual."

Leo pouted. "I tried to wish myself into becoming a genius the night before. Hazel said it was out of her ability."

Back when Leo had first gotten Hazel's lamp, Annabeth had been hoping to meet her. It was a genie, for gods sake, what else could've been more exciting? But Leo turned away when she asked. Apparently it was in the rule book everyone received with their genie: no one else can see or talk to your genie except for yourself or an authorised personnel. Annabeth's own parents never allowed her to meet with their genies. So, really, Annabeth has never seen a genie in real life (except for those badly animated ones in movies).

"I wonder how many people here have already killed their genies by making all nine wishes," Annabeth said, scorning the grounds. "People at this school are evil."

"Well, Luke Castellan probably killed his the first hour. He seems like an evil punk."

"Leo, he's not punk. He's kind of cute."

"You only say that because you've got a huge, ugly crush on him."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I have the same chance with Luke as you do with Thalia. Zero. He's too popular. She's too popular."

"Let's make a pact. If we're both single for the Christmas Ball next month, we're going together. Then after the ball, we're going my place for an entire night of movies."

Annabeth shook his hand. "You have a deal, Leo Valdez."

"Ah, Ms. Chase, don't get your hopes up. Thalia Grace is still in my eyes and I have eight wishes left to somehow capture her heart."

The students at the tables start standing up to leave for class and Annabeth's chest tightened. Every second that ticked by was pulling her closer to when her stepmother would pick her up from school and take her to the center where she'll be getting her _own _genie.

Wow.

Annabeth had a whole list of wishes she wanted granted. It was endless: her hair, her eyes, her skin, the situation with her family, her confidence, and so many more. Of course once she narrowed the list down to nine wishes, the issue she had was when she'd actually make those wishes. If her genie turned out to be an asshole, she'd make all nine wishes by tomorrow. If her genie turned out to be amazing, maybe she'd make eight wishes throughout her life and never make her last one so they'd never die. Despite the excitement pounding through her veins, she was terrified to make the wrong wish and regret it for the rest of her life.

**aoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoao**

Her biology test went terrible. Annabeth spent an hour sitting on the table, her eyebrows dancing in confusion, trying to figure out how to spell the different parts of the body. The most frustrating part was the insane amount of time she spent studying for the test. She hated the idea of getting bad grades but Annabeth couldn't figure out even one answer.

Annabeth's classmate, Piper, was having the same problems. She gave Annabeth a side ways glance when their teacher wasn't looking and lunged to drop a note on her desk.

_Answer to Question 3? _

Annabeth sighed, scribbling back her answer.

_Beats me._

Piper made a crying motion with her finger and snapped her attention back to her own test when the teacher turned back around. Others in the classroom had similar reactions, even that nerd genius Frank Zhang sitting at the front of the classroom was dumbfounded. At least it wasn't just Annabeth who didn't understand a word.

A few minutes later, Annabeth set her pencil down for the teacher to snatch her test. She watched it go, dreading the zero she was going to get back. How was she supposed it to her mother who was extremely insistent on good grades?

She pushed it out of her head. Today was the one day Annabeth refused to think of her mother. Right after the biology test, her stepmother was supposed to pick her up early from school to take her to the center. The teacher dismissed a class and Annabeth stood up so fast her chair fell over.

Piper raised her eyebrows at Annabeth stuffing her pencil case back in her bag. "You're in a hurry."

"I'm getting my genie now!"

Piper squealed, throwing her arms around Annabeth and squeezing her tightly. "That's so exciting! Congratulations! I still remember when I got my genie a few weeks ago. He's a cool friend even though we're complete opposites. I promise you'll love your new friend!"

Annabeth's phone went crazy. Her stepmother's face appeared on the screen and Annabeth sent Piper an apologetic look which she waved off. Swinging her bag on her shoulders, Annabeth went the opposite direction of her next class. She broke out into the fresh air of her high school where her stepmother's car was waiting on the curb.

"Seatbelt on," her stepmother, Helen, reminded her.

Annabeth did as she was told.

"You're practically jumping out of your seat," Helen laughed.

"I can't help it. I have so many things I want wish about. Starting with my hair, gosh, it's always such a mess. Even Leo made his first wish last night."

"Oh? What did he wish for?"

"Perfect teeth."

Helen said, "Oh. Sounds nice. I don't think you should make any wishes today, though. Spend the time getting to know your genie rather than making wishes. Trust me, I made that mistake."

Helen had made seven of her nine wishes with her own genie. Annabeth didn't know much about Helen's genie. Sometimes, Helen left its lamp out on the kitchen table while she was baking but otherwise, the lamp would stay hidden from view. Annabeth loved the way Helen's lamp looked. It was rose gold, shaped like a curvy bottle with a hole at the top. Its slim, delicate handle was attached to the side. It almost looked like a beautified water jug.

"Why not, though?" Annabeth asked. "A lot of people I know made their wishes on the first day."

"Your genie is a bit like your guide. Maybe what you're wishing for isn't what is best for you. I changed the shape of my nose on the first day and I've regretted it every since. My genie warned me not to and I didn't listen. I've learned my lesson now, though, and I take my genie's advice for everything I want."

The car pulled up in the parking lot of the center. It was a large building made of white concrete with gorgeous stained glass windows making a prodding dome above the front door. A doorman stood nearby, greeting the few people making their way in and out of the building. Some guy came out of the building with a plush, velvet box in his arms. The smile on his face lit up the whole world and Annabeth gazed at the box hungrily. She'll the boy soon, walking out with her own genie lamp in the box.

Helen checked her watch. "We've got a few minutes to spare before we have to go inside for your appointment."

"Or… we could go in now?"

"Actually, your mother wanted to talk to you first before you got your genie."

Annabeth's mouth went dry. She had a complicated relationship with her mother. Annabeth lived with her father, stepmother, and two little half-brothers. They were mostly fine on their own (define _fine_) but Annabeth admitted that if her billionaire biological mother wasn't in the picture, the family she lived with would suffer. Money was an issue for her father who was a college history professor. There were five people in their family with too many mouths and necessities for his small salary.

That was where Annabeth's mother, Athena, stepped in. She graciously paid for the expenses her father couldn't cover and sent Annabeth and her brothers to a private school. In return, she wanted (more like demanded with the threat to throw Annabeth over the cliff if she didn't deliver) Annabeth to follow in her footsteps where she worked as a real estate agent. It was a somewhat fair deal: her entire family gets to live a gorgeous penthouse her father couldn't afford in a million years but Annabeth had to stick with her mother.

If only it didn't tramp Annabeth's own dreams for the future in the process.

Helen dialled Athena's phone number into her phone and gave it to Annabeth who held it to her ear gingerly.

Athena's came through crisp and stern. "Annabeth. You're about to get your genie."

"I am."

"I want to to warn about these genies before you get your own and get smitten by the curtain of friendship they pull over you. They are not miracle workers. If you want to be a successful lady as I am, you need to work hard on your own."

"I know, Mom."

"Your father told me you had a biology test today. How did it go?"

Oh yes, Annabeth thought miserably. That's why she took biology. Because her mother didn't believe in the woodworking classes Annabeth wanted in place of her science elective. "It went fine, Mom."

"I want see an A+ for Biology this term. You got an A last time. That's not enough."

_I'm going to fail_. "Of course, Mom. I'll be embarrassed myself if I got anything less than the top score in the class."

"Good. Now go get your genie. But remember what I said."

Annabeth hung up. She sat there for moment, hand wrapped tightly around the phone. Then, she shook her head. Not today. Athena wasn't going to ruin today for Annabeth. She returned the phone to Helen who gave her a sombre smile. Helen was more of a mother to Annabeth than Athena would ever be and she knew all about Annabeth's tight relationship with Athena.

Helen leaned over her seat and kissed Annabeth on the temple lightly. "Come on. Let's get your genie and then celebrate your Coming back at home."

The doorman greeted them full-heartedly when they passed. He congratulated Annabeth for her Coming and gave her a wide smile. The man pulled the jewel encrusted golden handle of the glass doors with a gloved hand and bowed as Annabeth walked through.

The inside blew Annabeth's breath away. Intricate paintings of old myths and stories covered the light flooring of the dome the foyer was. A large chandelier hung from the very top of the dome and occasional pillars were scattered around the area with small mirrors spiralling up its length. Couches and fancy lamps stood in a cluster in one curve of the dome and on the opposite side was circular registration area where a preppy woman sat behind a screen.

"Excuse me? We're here for Annabeth Chase," Helen said to the woman.

The woman broke out into an abnormally large smile. "Annabeth! Hello! You are absolutely beautiful. Congratulations on your Coming! What an exciting day for you."

Annabeth blushed. "Thank you."

"I'll just get my colleague to take over," the woman said. "You can call me Aphrodite. I'm going to be briefing you on meeting your genie then I'll leave you sometime to meet and get to know them. And you— you must be Helen Chase. I'm going to ask you to take a seat here. I'll take about an hour for Annabeth to be done." She stalked away to get her colleague.

Helen hugged Annabeth tightly. "You're going to get an amazing genie. A friend for life."

"I hope I don't get one like Dad did."

Helen snorted. Annabeth's father had a genie who according to him was the 'trashiest thing on this planet.' He made his ninth wish a year after he got his genie and has been roaming free since. "You won't get one like your father did. Good luck!"

Aphrodite steered Annabeth down a hallway close to the registration desk. Helen disappeared behind Annabeth as they continued walking. Aphrodite hummed as she led Annabeth past the doors and rooms. Eventually, she pushed open a door and ushered Annabeth inside. The room was just as luxurious as the foyer was. The walls were red and the floor was dark brown. The lighting was fairly dim but it just added to the entire mysterious gist the room was bringing out. Two couches sat in the middle of the room with a small glass table between them. At the edge of the room, mugs and an array of drinks sat neatly on a rectangular table.

"Take a seat, dear," Aphrodite said. "I'll brief you about your genie and then you can have half an hour to get to know who they are."

Annabeth made herself comfortable on the couch, slinging one leg over the other, just as Aphrodite dropped a book on the glass table.

"This is the rule book," Aphrodite said. She flicked through the twenty-page manual. "The simplified version, that is. You should know most of these rules already from your family and friends but I'll still talk you through the ones people often get confused with."

"It's very detailed."

"It has to be. Otherwise, we don't know how many loopholes people can find. Rule one you must remember: you can't ask any questions to your genie."

"What?"

Aphrodite tapped a manicured finger on the first page of the manual. "Genies are sensitive. We're blessed to have them with us but they don't take well to questions. Sometimes genies can react quite unpredictably. So if you are confused about something and you want to tell that to your genie, you need to phrase it in a way that it isn't a question."

"Not even things like asking how they are doing that day?"

"No. I know it may seem like a small question but among genies, many could take it the wrong way and believe you are prying in their lives. They are extremely private. Their world can get dangerous and violent with the wrong move. They are genies and grant _you _wishes so it makes sense they ask you questions. But it doesn't make sense for you to want to know about them and their lives because there's nothing they need from you."

Annabeth swallowed, grasping for the new information and trying to make sense of it. "Okay, I think I got that."

Aphrodite scanned the rules. "Most of these you can read up in your own time. There are the usual ones: nine wishes only and then your genie dies. You can keep the lamp after they die but of course they will be there no more. No one else can see or talk to your genie. You can't wish for something out of their ability to grant. You can't wish for more wishes, or to control someone else."

"Okay."

"And most importantly," Aphrodite said. "You mustn't fall in love with your genie. These rules, especially this rule, is in place for your own protection and you should follow them if you don't want to end up dealing with the consequences."

"What consequences?"

"Dire consequences."

Annabeth hesitated. Her skin crawled. She had been so excited to meet her genie but suddenly a sense of dread was inching its way up her throat. "You make it sound like genies are dangerous creatures. Why do we each get one then?"

"Oh, they aren't. Most of them aren't. Nothing to worry about, dear. Only one in a billion end up with the evil genies. As long as you don't fall in love with the genie, they could end up being your best friend. But love… love is something all genies, evil or not, have the ability to exploit. So make them your friend and nothing more. They're amazing creatures if you know how to handle them."

"Oh."

Aphrodite clapped her hands together. She was a beautiful woman with dark hair falling over shoulder in ironed waves. Her high cheekbones complimented her slender body making Annabeth box herself in. She's always wanted the hair and curves that Aphrodite showed in her silicone dress.

"So," Aphrodite said. "You can settle down with the drinks over there. I'm going to and grab your genie's lamp! Aren't you excited?"

Annabeth sat up straighter and blood rushed to her face. "Yeah, I can't wait to meet them."

Aphrodite slipped out of the room. Instead of making her way to the drinks table, Annabeth stayed where she was. She drummed her fingers on her knee in anticipation. The adrenaline running through her body was uncontrollable; Annabeth couldn't sit still. The room was awfully silent after Aphrodite left and it was bordering on creepy until the door opened Aphrodite slipped back inside.

A velvet box rested in Aphrodite's hands. She put it down on the glass table in front of Annabeth and put her finger to her lips. "You know what to do, dear."

Once again, Annabeth was left alone in the room.

Annabeth undid the latch on the velvet box. Her hands were trembling, clammy. She opened the lid and inside in its glory sat her genie's lamp underneath masses of black sponge. Annabeth reached in to pick up the lamp.

The lamp was beautiful. It was small and fragile in her hands. It had an aquamarine, metallic coating. It looked like a teapot but its spout was stretched out to make it longer. The handle was on the opposite side from the spout. The hole through which her genie would come out sat at the top of the spout. Carved patterns of curved lines followed along the sides of the lamp, curling over the handle and disappearing underneath.

Annabeth turned it around in her hands. Her heart hit her ribs with such intense pressure she struggled to breath.

This was it.

Who was her genie?

Who was this magician promised to change her whole life?

Annabeth rubbed the side of the lamp.

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**HOW WAS THAT? I have so many ideas for this story! I hope you guys liked it, leave a review to tell me whether you did enjoy it. Also, I'm trying to get a tumblr account but I can't seem to figure out how the Frick you're supposed to be social on tumblr lol can someone help with that? I feel so dumb asking that but oh well...**

**I gotta go die doing homework now :(**

**Review, Favourite, and Follow!**

**~Ami**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own the PJO characters**

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Chapter Two

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The first thing that happened was smoke.

Annabeth watched, captivated, as the lamp in her hand began to steam. Nebulous smoke whistled out of the spout like a train whistle and quickly filled the room. She watched in awe as the smoke curled into itself to make a figure. A blinding light erupted from the figure and Annabeth threw her arm over her eyes to shield herself.

She opened her eyes.

God, her genie was _breathtaking_. Her genie was a tall guy with dishevelled dark hair and the most piercing sea-green eyes Annabeth has ever seen. He was lean but the muscles up his arms and chest were apparent through the skin-tight shirt he wore. Her genie was tanned with a complexion somewhere between olive and caramel.

Annabeth couldn't form any words. She was having an out-of-body experience.

"In case you're wondering," her genie said in a deep voice. "All genies are damn sexy. It's in our genes. Ha. I really don't know if I can say the same thing for you humans, though."

Annabeth snapped back into her body. "You can't be serious."

"Oh, I am," her genie said. He grinned and dimples appeared at the edges of his mouth. "If you're confused about which part of you to change first, I recommend your hair. Has anyone told you that it looks like a cauliflower? Mm, yeah. A very wild cauliflower."

Annabeth gawked at him. Of _course _it was just her luck that she ended up with the biggest asshole for her genie who happened to be the most attractive living creature hundred mile radius to her. Her hand unconsciously went up to touch the bun on top of her head and a surge of anger came over her.

More like breathtakingly _insufferable_.

"My name is Perseus," her genie went on. "But you can call me Percy. I've been told that Perseus sounds a lot sexier than Percy. So if you're feeling a little down whenever, feel free to call me Perseus but don't expect me to be purring in return. On the other hand, you have my permission to purr all you want."

Annabeth scowled. "You're supposed to be introducing yourself graciously and then we're supposed to become the best of friends."

Percy shrugged. He was floating in mid air, sitting criss-crossed. On a tangent, Annabeth wondered if she could wish for magic but she was also positive that somewhere in the rulebook it said she couldn't.

"Well," Percy mused. "If you want a stereotypical genie, I could totally do it for you." Percy snapped his fingers and suddenly he was wearing something completely different. Instead of his black shirt, he wore a humongous blue hat along with poof-pants of the same color. His shirt was no longer a shirt but a sleeveless blue top with no middle that left a whole stretch of his chest bare.

"That is _not _what I meant."

Percy tutted and steeled himself as if he were standing at a movie set. "What may your name be? I am your absolutely amazing-can't-get-me-out-of-your-head genie Percy Jackson. I can grant you wishes but you only have nine so choose wisely!" He stood up and took a bow in the air. Then he leaned in and whispered as if there was a third person in the room, "I recommend starting with your hair!"

Annabeth glowered. "Get back in your stupid lamp."

"What?"

"I said get back in your lamp. I refuse to talk to you and I refuse to look at your ugly face."

"I think your initial expression when I came out of the lamp completely contradicts what you said about my face."

"Now."

Percy blew a strand of dark hair that fell over his eyes. "I'm your genie. I grant you wishes. That doesn't mean I have to listen to everything you say."

Maybe this is what Aphrodite meant when she warned Annabeth against any wrong move. Everything had gone wrong. She slumped onto the couch, holding her head in her hands. Her entire life had been building up to this moment and what came out of that lamp is a complete disaster.

"Hey, hey," Percy said, hurriedly. "Don't cry!"

"I'm not crying! I'm cursing my luck."

"But you have me! I'm a great genie."

"Back in your lamp. I don't want to talk to you right now."

Percy snickered. "I'm your genie, sweetheart. You'll be rubbing my lamp all over the second someone from school starts bullying you about your hair." He spread his arms out. "Maybe I should sing a song to introduce myself. I've heard I'm a great singer. I've also heard humans love singing genies."

Annabeth stalked forward and grabbed the lamp. A grey smoke drifted in a line, connecting Percy to the lamp. She shook it, half wondering how idiotic she looked and half grumbling why Percy wasn't affected. Annabeth drove it forward in the air and some of the smoke disappeared inside the lamp.

Percy only cocked an eyebrow. "You done wringing out my home, sweetheart? I don't want to go back and see my couch on top of my bed. I have a dog in there. You better not hurt Blackjack."

A question almost tumbled out but Annabeth stopped herself just in time."Tell me about your dog."

"Ooh, now you're interested in me!"

"Your dog."

"He's a cute, fluffy black thing. In fact, Blackjack is so fluffy that sometimes when he's running towards you, you see a giant ball rolling. So please, refrain from hurting my baby."

Annabeth put down the lamp hesitantly. "I didn't know genies could keep pets inside their lamps."

Percy opened his mouth to reply but shut it a second later. The smirk fell from his face and he furrowed his eyebrows. "I… don't remember how he came around. I just know he's mine and he lives with me inside that lamp that you're so keen on destroying."

"You don't remember."

"Nope."

Annabeth sighed, exasperated. She ran a hand through messy curls and stuck her tongue out at Percy whose smirk was back. "Aphrodite will be here soon. It's almost been half an hour. Please go back into your lamp because if you don't want to listen to me, just remember that it's one of rules that you can't be seen by anyone else."

"I've always wondered, why is that a rule?"

"I don't know. It's my first time dealing with genies and as a side note, you've just ruined my entire perception on genies."

Percy said, "You humans had already ruined my perception on your kind before I met you. You think I asked to be stuck in a lamp until I die?"

"I can't deal with you for the rest of my life."

"Nine wishes then I'm gone! Now, let's see. Your hair. Your eyes, jeez you're scary with those grey eyes. You've also got a lot of wrinkles on your face. It almost reminds me a prune. Mm, maybe that's a better description of you than a cauliflower."

Percy spun a finger in the air in a circle and a mirror appeared in front of Annabeth. Her jaw dropped at her reflection: wrinkles framed every inch of her face and she resembled more her dead great-grandmother than herself. Annabeth screamed, tripping over one of the table legs and falling backwards.

"Crap, I wasn't expecting a scream."

Annabeth landed on something soft and fluffy that definitely wasn't there a few seconds prior. The mirror disappeared from above her head and so did the thing underneath her. She stood up with a sore elbow, glaring at Percy.

"Oops," Percy snorted.

Someone knocked on the door and Aphrodite's muffled voice came through. Annabeth couldn't make out what Aphrodite was saying but she gave Percy a glare and pointed at the lamp. "Get in. I think she's coming."

Percy pouted. His figure turned back into smoke and the lamp sucked him up until there wasn't a hint of Percy left in the room. Annabeth stared at the aquamarine lamp left on the table and she walked across the small room to gingerly pick it up. It vibrated under her fingertips and almost pulled out of her grasp.

"Percy," Annabeth hissed. "Stop moving."

The lamp stilled. No vibrations, no tipping over.

Aphrodite knocked on the door again. "Annabeth?"

"You can come in. My genie has gone back inside the lamp."

Aphrodite's smiling face appeared. She pushed the door open wider and beckoned Annabeth to exit. "Don't forget the velvet box."

Annabeth made her way to the glass table. She ignored the frustration from Percy's stunts and neatly packed his lamp back into the black sponges. The latch on the velvet box closed with a click and she scooped it up in arms. Would Percy feel it if she tossed the entire box out the window and waved it goodbye?

"How was meeting your genie for the first time?" Aphrodite asked her. She led Annabeth down the same confusing hallways. "Exciting? Are you planning to go home and spend all night bonding with them?"

Annabeth forced a smile. "My genie was great. Meeting them was everything I dreamed it would be."

Aphrodite squealed and Annabeth felt like her ears were melting off. "That's amazing! I love it whenever another teenager comes out with a smile on their face. It's the exact reason I'm in this job after all."

They entered the foyer. Annabeth saw yet another new seventeen-year-old jittering in excitement by the registration table. She wanted to go up to them and throw Percy's lamp in their face and tell them to keep him. Instead, she tightened her grip on the velvet box and waved Aphrodite goodbye.

Helen was waiting for her on one of the many couches. She sprang up when she saw Annabeth. "How was it? What's their name? Did you become good friends with them?"

Annabeth shook her head. With Aphrodite out of earshot, she could confess. "It was this guy named Percy. I hate him, Helen. He's arrogant. All he did for that half an hour was insult how I looked. He's exactly what Dad described his genie was like."

Helen enveloped Annabeth in a hug. Annabeth wasn't crying now but she was sure they'd come later that night. People talked about their genies like they were the last friend they'd ever have in the world. Others said their world revolved around their genie. Happy, sad, lonely, it didn't matter. Their genie was the only friend who would be with them through thick and thin. Annabeth wasn't one who made friends easily; she was praying her genie would be the one free pass ticket to someone who she'd click with instantly.

"Let's go home," Helen said. "You never know, maybe your genie will grow on you. You didn't make any wishes, did you?"

"No."

Annabeth closed her eyes and returned to Helen's warm embrace. Her body burned. Couldn't life be more unfair to her?

**aoaoaoaoaoaoaoaoao**

Annabeth entered her biology classroom to a long line of down faces. To her relief, everyone else felt the test was completely unfair. Her worry was how she was going to face Athena knowing that she wasn't getting an A+ in biology this term.

The past day had been a mess.

After Annabeth had gotten Percy and his lamp, she left him in her room before celebrating her Coming with her family downstairs. To her luck, Percy didn't tip over his lamp or get her attention using magic so most of her evening was peaceful. She had, however, gotten a rude wake up call in the morning. Apparently Percy could project his voice through the lamp to talk to her without coming out of the lamp at all. Her irritation with his constant commentary while she went on with her morning routine was enough for Annabeth to leave his lamp on her window sill at home.

She even checked her face for wrinkles before she left. And thankfully whatever Percy showed her in that mirror the day before was only an illusion. She knew it wasn't real, of course, but she couldn't help the paranoia building in her stomach.

At least now she was at school with her friends whom she trusted. Percy was a problem for later.

"We're getting our tests back," Piper muttered as Annabeth slipped into her seat. "These are the only times I'm be thankful that my parents don't give a shit about what I do all day."

"Now?"

Piper jutted her chin out towards the teacher who was already going around giving out papers. "Now. Frank Zhang got his test back right before you came in. He got a flipping sixty percent."

"Sixty? But… he's Frank! He gets like ninety-eight on every test."

"Exactly! If Frank is getting sixty, what the hell am I going to get?"

Annabeth bit her lip, watching the teacher making rounds around the classroom. She was sick of coming second to Frank Zhang for every test but now she was positive her rank had fallen down by several places.

As expected, the teacher slammed the test on Annabeth's desk. "Not your best, Ms. Chase."

Next to her, Piper swore out loud with her own test in hand. "I got a twenty? I deserved at least an eighty."

Annabeth turned over her test. A giant forty stared back at her and she groaned out loud, letting her head drop onto the desk. Athena was probably going to be dropping in some day during the week to ask Annabeth the superficial questions of her Coming celebrations. If Athena found out that Annabeth had gotten a forty on her test, it was all over.

"Ms. Chase," her teacher said in passing. "You're needed in the office to show around a potential new student. You're excused from class."

It took a moment for the words to settle into Annabeth. She was on the ambassadors team at their school which meant she was constantly showing around new students or those considering applying. Piper gave her a desperate look when the teacher leaned over Annabeth's desk to remind Piper about her sudden drop in average grade.

Annabeth walked the deserted halls to the main office. She had stuffed her test into her bag but the giant forty still sat imprinted in her mind. Maybe she was going to make her first wish today to change her biology score. What a waste of a wish. Percy was about to have a field day today. She approached the secretary at the main office and introduced herself.

"The possible new student," the secretary said. She looked off to the side and motioned for two people sitting nearby to come closer. "Annabeth, this is Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

Rachel was the same height as Annabeth with fiery red hair pulled up in a tight ponytail. Freckles dotted her flushed cheeks and she wore a pair of jeans splattered with paint. Annabeth greeted Rachel with a handshake before an older woman stood up beside Rachel.

"I'm Rachel's mother," Mrs. Dare said. "If you don't mind, I'd like to join her for the tour around the school."

"I'm happy to show you both around," Annabeth said. She left her bag where the secretary gestured her to before opening the door of the main office and leading both Rachel and Mrs. Dare out and into the hallway. "Goode High School has been around for almost seventy years now. We've been refurnishing buildings and adding new facilities every year to make Goode an educational leader among private institutions."

Annabeth sounded like a robot. She was repeating every word on the pamphlet she got given when she joined the ambassadors team.

"Your hair," Rachel said suddenly. "Why is it white?"

Annabeth paused, glancing down at her blonde curls. She left her hair down today and admittedly it was because Percy was going on and on this morning about what a cauliflower she looked like with her hair tied up in a bun. "My hair?"

Rachel took a step closer and giggled, pulling on a curl on Annabeth's shoulder. "You have white hair! I have black hair, see? We're opposites!"

Mrs. Dare pulled her daughter back. "I'm sorry, Annabeth. My daughter suffers from a mental condition that causes hallucinations. It's why I accompanied her on this tour. She gets scared when she's left alone."

"You have nice hair," Rachel said. "But it's so white."

"You have nice hair, too, Rachel. It's great to meet you."

Rachel's green eyes flickered. "Really?"

"Of course!"

The red-haired girl started singing then. Mrs. Dare tried shushing Rachel but she went on with her doozy voice, "_I followed the stars to a place I don't know. I landed the moon on the sun. I can't tell why but I can't tell us apart. If only you'd just tell me how._"

Annabeth gave Rachel a weak smile. "You have an amazing voice."

"I want to be a painter when I grow up! Last night I had a dream of this really scary place with rows and rows of jails and barely any light. There were genies in those prisons and ooh they looked so scared! I'm going to draw them all with twisted faces and screeching voices and I'll do it when I go back home. Handcuffs. Lots of iron. Scary. Blood everywhere."

Mrs. Dare hushed Rachel. "Annabeth. Tell us more about some of the facilities at the school. Rachel does love art so perhaps we can take a detour to the art department?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm happy to bring you there," Annabeth said. She glanced at Rachel who was tapping her nose with a pointer finger and staring out into the distance. "The art department is just this way."

Luckily, the art department was the closest one to the main office. Annabeth poked her head into an empty studio and allowed Rachel and Mrs. Dare inside so they could take a look. Rachel set something down on a nearby table, she had been cradling it and keeping Annabeth from seeing it the whole time, and went around oohing at the paintings on the walls.

Annabeth saw what Rachel left on the table: her genie lamp. Rachel's lamp was gold and it had a fire-like pattern near its base. It looked like a water glass but the hole through which genie came out of was a tiny thing at the top.

"I like the art department, Mom."

Mrs. Dare smiled, relieved. "You do? Can you imagine yourself painting here?"

"I can. I love this place."

Annabeth nodded. "You can do a lot in the art department. We have a group that our head art teacher runs that's for gifted artists. I'm sure you apply for that, you have a shot at getting in. They do exhibitions every year in the city that ends up earning a lot of money that the school donates to charity."

Rachel went wandering out the door. Mrs. Dare, who was admiring some art work, grabbed her purse from next to Rachel's genie lamp and ran after her daughter. Annabeth picked up Rachel's lamp and followed them out.

"Rachel," Annabeth called. "You forgot your genie lamp inside."

Rachel froze. She turned around and her eyes went wide seeing the lamp in Annabeth's hands. Then all of a sudden, Rachel screamed. Annabeth gasped, almost dropping the lamp in her hands, as Rachel's shrill cry rang out through the hallway.

"My lamp!" Rachel yelled. "How dare you touch it?"

"You left it! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"You can't touch my lamp!"

"Rachel, it was a mistake," Mrs. Dare begged. She grabbed Rachel's midriff when Rachel tried to launch herself forward to body slam Annabeth to the ground. "Rachel, please, she meant no harm."

Annabeth thrust her arms out for Rachel to take the lamp from her. She saw tears glistening on Rachel's cheeks. Rachel was insane. Annabeth watched as the red-head cooing at the lamp. Was her genie listening inside or was her genie dead and all of Rachel's nine wishes gone? "I'm sorry," Annabeth tried. "I was only trying to help." Hair stood up all over her arms and the back of her neck and a cold draft slithered through the spaces around her body.

Rachel spun around to face Annabeth again. Her genie lamp lay supported in the crook of her neck. Her eyes twinkled as if her outburst a few seconds ago never happened. "It's okay, friend! I love you!"

Annabeth gaped as Rachel continued on walking down the hall singing.

"_I followed the stars to a place I don't know. I landed the moon on the sun. I can't tell why but I can't tell us apart. If only you'd just tell me how._"

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**Thanks so much for the reviews/favs/follows that I got on the last chapter! As for this chapter, Ik rachel is super OOC in this but remember her because her character and condition becomes super significant later on! I was going to update this tomorrow but then I had written out the whole chapter so I was like "whoop, why not update today"**

**should I keep going with the story?**

**Review, Fav, follow!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own the PJO characters**

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Chapter Three

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The lunch line that day was longer than Annabeth was ready to wait for. She grabbed an apple from her bag and wove in and out of the crowd to reach the same tree she sat at everyday. She unzipped her backpack and took out her biology test. Every wrong question her eyes scanned over made her heart skip a beat.

Annabeth would be lying if she said her mother, Athena, didn't scare her. Athena was a tall woman of thirty-three with blonde hair and the same piercing grey eyes Annabeth had. Athena's long legs always adorned a pair of stilettos and she never left her house without wearing a pencil skirt. The last time Annabeth came to her with news of a bad score, she spent her night crying in her room. It was unfair how much pressure Athena put on Annabeth.

But there was one thing Athena ended up being right about that Annabeth was too late to realise: Percy wasn't a miracle worker.

Leo bounded up to her. He held up his own biology test. "I got a thirty."

"I got a forty."

Leo swore. "That bitch. She wants us to die and crumble. Does she not know how many dreams she's crushing in the process?"

Annabeth didn't answer but she must've looked downright miserable because she felt Leo's arms snaking around her waist and pulling her closer to his chest. He was only an inch taller than she was and she fit into his grasp like a puzzle piece. Her shoulders dropped and she buried her face in the crook of his neck.

They were an unlikely pair to be friends: Leo was the class clown while Annabeth was the nerd. But somehow, forging past all the classmates they had in lessons, both Annabeth and Leo found themselves at the same tree every lunch. Some days, they spent hours after school at the mechanics shop Leo's dad owned. Leo himself was handy with a wrench and it had been useful tons of times Annabeth needed something fixed.

"Crush," Leo muttered in her ear. "Five o'clock."

"Hey, I'm sorry if I'm interrupting something. Are you Annabeth?"

Annabeth shot to her feet. "Hi, hi. Hi. No, you're not interrupting anything. Ha. Hi. That's me. Annabeth Chase. Hi."

Luke Castellan raised a perfect eyebrow at her. His blue eyes and dirty blonde hair were perfect. His six pack was perfect. His chiseled jawline was perfect. Annabeth thought she might faint and it definitely wasn't because of the sun beating down on them.

"I'm doing a project on the Civil War," Luke started. His eyes darted to Leo who was brushing grass off his bottom. "And I was struggling so my teacher mentioned that you did a similar project first semester and got a near perfect score. I was wondering if there's any report or material you could give me for the project?"

"Oh, yeah," Annabeth blinked. "I have a report I can give you a copy of."

Luke broke out in a grin and Annabeth melted. "You're a huge help. Thank you. Can I meet you sometime for a printed copy or will you just share it to me digitally?"

"Oh, digitally is impossible," Leo cut in. "It's a huge project report thing. You'll have to come to her home to see it."

"But it's just a report?"

Leo said, "Nah. Dude, I'm talking an entire dining table huge cardboard board with lots of visuals and information. You want a near perfect score on whatever Civil War you're talking about and you'll have to go straight to Annabeth's home."

Luke turned to Annabeth. "Is there no way at all that you can bring the board to school?"

"No!" Leo supplied helpfully.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes at her best friend. The Civil War project she did was a thirteen page typed report. There was no cardboard board as big as a dining table involved. She could print the report out and give it to Luke within the next half an hour.

"Okay," Luke said. "Annabeth, do you mind if I come around five-thirty after school today then? I'd like to take some pictures of the board. I promise it won't take more than five minutes."

"No, I don't mind."

"Give me your number? You can text me your address."

Annabeth dug her phone out of her pocket and dropped it in Luke's waiting hands. She exchanged a look with Leo who was wiggling his eyebrows. He was smiling a lot more than he would normally and it was all because of his new teeth.

"Well," Luke said. "I've put my number in there. Text me the address and I'll drop by after football practice." Luke gave her a heart-warming smile and walked away towards where his group of friends usually sat.

"Leo," Annabeth hissed. "What did you tell Luke? I don't have any board for the Civil War project. He's going to come over after school and then what? I'm going to look like an idiot."

Leo grinned. "At least I got him to your house. Now you can go back to your asshole of a genie and make whatever wish you want to make it work. Doll yourself up and then give Luke a huge smooch on the lips when he's about to leave. Then invite me to your wedding and make a speech about what an amazing wingman I am."

"I don't want to waste a wish on Luke."

"Or maybe you could say that you lost the board and have just a typed version of your report."

"And look like an idiot in front of the guy I'm basically married to in my head."

"Ha. You'll look like an idiot anyway." Leo gave her a pointed look.

Annabeth shoved him to the side. "On another note, I met the potential new student today. I think she liked the school. It seems likely that she'll be joining us next week."

"Was she hot? That's the only reason I'll listen."

"She was…" Annabeth paused. She remembered thinking that Rachel was insane as the tour went on. The redhead sang her four-line song over and over again and gave Annabeth terrifying descriptions of how she was going to go home and draw genies. It almost made Annabeth feel bad for whatever genie sat inside her lamp. That genie had to deal with Rachel's wild imagination that conjured up images of genies in places no one wanted to be in.

But now, two hours after the tour ended, Annabeth wondered if it was right for her to call Rachel completely insane. Rachel was drifting in and out of insanity. Sometimes, she'd answer Annabeth with a straight face and a witty joke that made her sound like Piper. The next second, Rachel was singing and flapping her wings like a bird.

"Interesting," Annabeth settled. "Rachel was peculiar. Not like the usual student that's for sure. She was weirdly protective over her genie lamp. She forgot it in one of the rooms we visited and then blew up at me when I tried giving it back to her."

Leo's eyebrows knitted. "Maybe she's possessive over her genie because they're her only friend?"

"Yeah. We've heard of those kinds of people but I guess it stood out to me with her other behaviour. I mean, you let me touch Hazel's lamp all the time."

Leo pushed his backpack up to the tree and scooted downwards so he could lay his head on it. "If you're right about this new girl coming here, I'll meet her eventually. It's against the law to talk about your private conversations with your genie so I doubt we'll be able to find out a lot from Rachel anyway."

Annabeth nodded in agreement. There were bigger things she had to worry about like the stupid biology test in her hands and how she was going to tell Athena.

**aoaoaoaoaoaoaoao**

Annabeth got home from school after an entire day of grilling classes and ran up to her room. Thankfully, no one else was at home and wouldn't be home for a while. Percy's lamp sat on her window sill exactly where she left it, sparkling in the sunlight. She dropped her school bag on the ground and hurried across the room. This time when Percy came out there was no blinding light or curling smoke. He shot out and stood in the middle of her room at full height. A train of smoke still drifted from both his wrists and into the spout of his lamp.

"So," Percy said. "I just spent the day in my extremely hot lamp. You don't know how many ice cubes I've shoved down my throat to keep myself from melting. Thank you so much for leaving me out in the sun. I totally didn't boil inside."

Annabeth flushed. "I didn't know that would happen."

"Uh huh. I'm starting to think you hate my guts. How can you? I'm an excellent genie!"

"Well your first impression wasn't the best so my apologies."

"What do you want?"

"I have a wish."

Percy snorted. He walked around her bed and threw himself on it, curling up in her sheets and mumbling something about how cool they felt. Sweat glistened on his forehead and smeared all over her pillow. Annabeth yanked at his shirt and he yelped.

"I have a wish."

"I heard you the first time, sweetheart. Do you mind bringing my lamp closer to the bed? I'm not able to spread out properly since I can't go too far from my lamp."

Annabeth grabbed his leg, dragging him off her bed and he fell on the ground. "I have a wish and you're going to listen without making your stupid commentary."

"Mm. How about no? I love my stupid commentary."

"I swear I'll kill you."

"Violent. You should be locked up."

Annabeth groaned out loud and slumped on the ground in front of him. "You're supposed to be genie and grant my wishes."

"What wish?"

"First I want you to fix all the bad test scores I've had in high school as well as get me all perfect scores for every test I do from now on. I want my mom to proud of whatever I do in school and she's far from that right now." She explained her situation with the biology test.

Percy sat up. "Are you sure you want to waste a wish on school and test scores?" For once, there was no amusement in his tone but genuine curiosity as if he couldn't believe she was using her first wish to fix a bad test score.

"I've got eight other wishes. I'll be fine."

"No. Not for school you don't." Percy glanced around her room and grabbed the rule book off her bedside table. He flicked through the pages as he spoke, "You haven't read this, have you? It clearly says at number eleven that you can't use more than two wishes for school and work related things. And you call yourself a nerd. I thought all nerds were automatically attracted to books and manuals. Then again, I thought all nerds got good grades."

Annabeth frowned. She snatched the rule book from Percy. He was right. Number eleven sat clearly in bold where it listed out the maximum numbers of wishes she had for each aspect of her life. Three wishes maximum for changing appearance. Five wishes maximum for something you want but don't have. Her eyes went to rule number twelve and her heart plummeted. Number thirteen didn't make her feel any better. The rules for making wishes were far too restricting. Genies were always advertised to be life changing but really they couldn't do anything but sit next to you to talk out your feelings.

"Okay, whatever. I can deal with my life on my own without wishes if I can get this one granted." Annabeth took a deep breath and looked Percy directly in his sea-green eyes. His almond eyes were watching her closely and she felt shivers go up her spine. "I wish all the tests I have done and will do in high school school and university are scores above ninety percent."

Annabeth held her breath, waiting for her world to spin like Leo described.

Nothing happened.

"I can't do that, angel," Percy said. He looked rather cross. "It's out of my ability. Choose one subject and decrease the time frame. Maybe change it to all the tests you've done and will do in this year for biology. Or math. Whatever."

Annabeth gaped. "What kind of a genie are you that you can't even grant that simple wish? I used to hear stories that genies could create armies and stop a five hundred year droughts with the snap of their fingers. You're a loser."

Percy's expression hardened and Annabeth's voice went high-pitched on the last word. He leaned forward, startling her, with his narrowed eyes and clenched fists. "I'm a _loser_? I hope you realise what you humans are doing to genies one day because you sitting here insulting my magic is incredibly ironic. I've grown up as one of the most able genies among my age group."

"Must have been very low standards of magic then."

Percy grabbed her wrist forcefully and Annabeth flinched. "I can do much more than I'm allowed to because of these stupid rules. Rules that _your _leaders put in place. I can build you a castle of the highest luxury and put a diamond tiara on your head to make you the most powerful queen in the world. I can stand on the ground and raise buildings from the dirt and metal buried miles below with nothing but my mind. I can destroy entire lands with a wave of my hand. Do _not _insult what I'm capable of."

Annabeth scowled, ripping her hand away from him so his grip on her wrist fell. "No one is going to come peeking around and looking for whether we followed the rules."

"Every wish I grant is heard by your leaders. We'll be taken away instantly."

Annabeth's throat closed up. She was staring at a completely different genie to whom she met yesterday. Percy seemed far more cruel now but there was a sense of angst he was carrying. He lay sprawled on her ground and she was sitting between his legs from when she tried and failed to get him to stand. The smoke trail from Percy to his lamp was directly next to her.

"Okay," Annabeth said softly. She was desperate. "I wish all the biology tests I have done and will do this year scores above ninety percent."

A wind fluttered through the room and Annabeth's hair ruffled. Her skin prickled in the breeze. Percy's lips were pressed in a thin line; he looked so much older and mature in that moment. Annabeth wasn't sure whether it was the yellow lighting of her room or something else.

"Your wish is my command."

**aoaoaoaoaoaoaoao**

Annabeth opened her eyes. She didn't feel any different but she stood to dig through her bag for the biology test she knew her mother would be asking for within the next week. To her relief, the forty had become a ninety-two. She hugged the test, squeezing her eyes shut. Annabeth hadn't realised how heavily her mother's impending reaction was affecting her. An entire building had been plucked from off her shoulders.

"Well?" Percy said, smug.

"Thank you," Annabeth rolled her eyes. "But it's kind of your job as my genie."

"Ah yes. Couldn't do it for yourself so you humans put genies on a leash to do it for them. I wonder how long until dog shows become genie shows. I'd win first place, angel, better sign me up."

Annabeth chose to ignore him and sat on the edge of her bed this time.

For some reason Percy went from calling her sweetheart to angel. Soon, she bet, he was going to call her cauliflower.

Her phone went ringing off the hook. She whirled around, trying and failing to locate where the phone was buzzing until Percy found it in the sheets he was tangled in. She snatched it from him and he gave her another one of his arrogant smirks that made Annabeth want to pull her own hair out first time she met him.

"Leo?"

"How's my girl?"

"Leo, why are you calling? You said you were going to spend all afternoon in the shop with your dad, repairing that truck someone brought in."

"I'm taking a break," Leo said. The sound of metal clanging against metal on the other end skittered through the line and Annabeth backed away from the phone momentarily before putting it back to her ear. Leo continued, "Hit me with the plan."

"What plan?"

"The plan of what you're going to do when Luke comes around? It's five-fifteen, Annie. He's going to be there within the next fifteen minutes and we both know Luke has a reputation to be on time."

Annabeth's eyes widened. "I completely forgot Luke was coming."

Leo laughed in surprise. "You forgot? Oh, god, this is gonna be hell for you. Just say you lost the board or something. He'll be annoyed for the first two minutes then he'll forget all about it."

Annabeth said her byes to Leo in a hurry before jumping onto her laptop and slamming her printer to get it started. While her report was coming out, she shrugged off the hoodie she wore and hoped her tank top would suffice. She played with the straps of her tank top, wondering if she should change into something a little nicer.

Percy made a crude joke about stripping in the corner and she threw a book at his head.

Stapling her report, Annabeth checked the clock again. Eight minutes left. "Percy, get back in your lamp."

"What's going on?"

Percy reached for a pile of Hershey's kisses on her bedside table and Annabeth dove over her head to slap it out of his hand. She grabbed the bowl from near him and scooted off the bed on the opposite side he was on. He scowled and snapped his fingers and the bowl of chocolates went flying out of her hands. A couple Hershey's kisses floated out of the bowl and wiggled around in the air as if they were mocking her. Annabeth glared at Percy who was fist bumping another kiss in the air before its wrapping fell off and the chocolate fell in his open mouth.

"Can you make something appear?" Annabeth asked. She crawled back up the bed and watched him eat another chocolate from where he lay on the ground. "I've seen you do it before with the mirror."

"That's easy stuff."

"Without a wish?"

"Wishes make things permanent. I can conjure up anything without a wish and it can last anywhere between a few minutes to a few hours before disappearing."

Relief flood through Annabeth. "I need your help." Seeing his expression, she added, "I'll buy you all the chocolate you want."

"Angel, I can give myself all the chocolate I want with a snap of my fingers."

"Please, Percy. I'll do anything."

"Anything?"

Annabeth glanced at the clock again. Four minutes left. Luke's image popped into her head and suddenly she was drowning again. "Anything. I just need you to conjure up a board of the American Civil War." She described it to him loosely and hoped he understood.

Percy mulled it over. "Fine. Where do you need this board?"

Annabeth grabbed Percy's lamp and he stood up gingerly. "Downstairs." Grabbing his shoulder with one hand, tucking the lamp under her arm, and the stapled report with the other, Annabeth darted out her room with Percy at her heels. He protested as she made her way down the stairs loudly. He wasn't wearing shoes, Annabeth realised. Percy's toes skimmed the wooden stairs but he was floating down instead of walking.

The door bell rang and Annabeth squeaked. She tripped down the bottom stairs and regained her balance before darting towards her dining table. "Board on the table! And get back in your lamp. He can't see you."

Percy stuck his tongue out at her childishly. Annabeth prayed the board would be on the table when she returned and ran to unlock the front door.

"Hey," Luke said. He was wearing his football jersey from school along with a pair of basketball shorts. His blond hair stuck upwards and a trail of sweat glistened on his neck. "I'm sorry, I'm a mess. I was at football practice."

"You're not," Annabeth reassured him. "Come in."

She could barely control her heart leaping as she led Luke down the hallway. To her relief, a board sat on the table with Percy nowhere to be seen. His blue lamp, however, sat next to the board.

"Oh, this is great," Luke said. "You don't know what a relief it is to get some help on this stupid project."

"It's not a problem!" She passed over the stapled report and Luke sent a grateful smile. "I… um… like helping people."

Luke laughed.

Percy's lamp jumped.

Annabeth clenched her teeth, staring the lamp down. Luke was reading through her typed report, biting his lip as he muttered the words she wrote.

"This is great," Luke repeated. "I can see why it got such a high grade."

Percy's lamp jumped again. This time, it made a strange buzzing sound and a spark escaped from its spout. The spark burst like a firework.

"Your genie?"

Annabeth chuckled nervously. She grabbed Percy's lamp to keep it from hopping. "He… likes to play practical jokes. We're quite close so he finds it funny to annoy me."

"That's a sweet friendship. I never had a good relationship with my genie. I barely talk to her except for when I want to make wishes."

"Oh. Have you made any wishes yet?"

"Three."

Annabeth resisted the urge to smirk. Leo was going to eat his words: He thought Luke was one of those people who had already made all their wishes to leave their genie to die. "I've only made one so far."

Luke tucked his phone back in his pocket. "Thanks for the photos and the report. I should be going now. Thalia's waiting for me for dinner."

Annabeth's heart plummeted. "Are you guys dating?"

"It's complicated," Luke shrugged. "I'm not saying no but I'm not saying yes either."

Percy's lamp went insane. It dragged itself across the table towards where Luke was standing, hopping all over the civil war board. To Annabeth's horror, the board itself started flickering and then it was gone.

"My genie," Annabeth told Luke who was staring at the empty dining table stoically. "He's quite mischievous with his pranks. I guess sometimes he takes it a bit too far. I better go see what's up with him. Give me a minute?"

Annabeth didn't wait for Luke's answer. She caught Percy's lamp mid-jump and stormed off into kitchen. She rubbed his lamp vigorously and Percy flung out of the spout.

"What the hell, Percy? The one time something in my life is going right and you mess it up?"

Percy gawked at her, open-mouthed and stuttering.

"Great," Annabeth hissed. "Now I'm going back out there to say bye to Luke and you're going to stay right here."

"Annabeth," Percy cried out. He grabbed her leg. "Annabeth, wait!"

"Let me go, idiot!" It barely registered that it was the first time she heard Percy say her name.

"You don't understand," Percy said. He rose to his knees and grabbed Annabeth's hand to keep her from leaving. Annabeth stared at Percy whose entire face had gone red. He was near tears and his breaths were coming out sporadic. He clung to her as if she were the last living thing on the planet and his only hope for survival. This wasn't the Percy who Annabeth met a day ago. She quit struggling. Was he having a panic attack?

"Annabeth. I… knew him growing up. Luke Castellan. That voice, I'm never going to forget that voice. Some things he said to you out there he's told me himself. He has blond hair. Blue eyes. I got a peek of him. It's definitely the Luke from my childhood."

Annabeth numbly knelt down to Percy's level. She never told Percy who was coming over. His entire body swayed dangerously to the side and his grip on her arm tightened. She wrapped her own hands around his trembling one. Her voice came out soft as she rubbed the side of his hand with her thumb. "Hey. It's okay. Deep breaths. What about Luke scares you?"

"It's not fear. It's… disbelief. I may not remember much about where I come from but I remember enough. Luke isn't human. He's a genie."

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**I'll be honest, I was not expecting so many ppl to follow this story! It was a nice surprise haha. Now the mystery part of this story really kicks off and I promise the romance is coming soon! So far, my plans for this story haven't got anything to do with Thaluke but if you guys want to see that, let me know and I'll try to put it in. Percabeth promised but idk for sure about other couples yet.**

**Also, just an important note. Some people were marking the story as a fav (i love you) but not following it. As far as I'm aware, you'll only get alerts of a new chapter if you follow it so don't forget to hit both fav and follow.**

**I'm gonna be following a weekly update schedule now! I'll be updating every Friday (starting next week)!**

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	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own the PJO characters**

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Chapter Four

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There were a lot of things that scared Annabeth whether she was ready to admit it or not. Spiders was one fear that used to haunt her as a child and didn't falter even well into her teenage years. She was terrified of confined spaces too. Annabeth would sometimes wake up gasping from a nightmare where all the walls were closing in on her until her entire body crumbled. Then the fear of being alone. She couldn't be seen at school without someone with her or she'd be ducking in the bathroom and pretending she was looking for someone while praying no one realised she was alone.

And right now with Percy's grip tight around her arm, she wondered what he was afraid of. Did Luke rattle him so much? Percy had his eyes squeezed shut and her grip on her never faltered. His chest heaved up and down irregularly and one hand rested over his heart. He was not okay.

A door slammed from somewhere in the living room and Percy's eyes snapped open.

"Get back in your lamp," Annabeth told him in a low whisper. "We'll talk in my room."

Percy disappeared in a swirl and she picked his lamp. Tucking it under her arm, Annabeth ran a hand through her wild curls. She took a deep breath and stepped out of the kitchen so she could face Luke and bid him goodbye.

Instead of the gorgeous Luke Castellan, Annabeth came face to face with Helen. Annabeth went white, craning her neck to see the living room empty of anyone else. Luke's bag was gone from where he dropped it on the floor to read her report and the front door was latched shut.

"Who was that nice boy outside? He seemed to be in a hurry."

To go to Thalia's. Of course. Annabeth pursed her lips. "Someone from school wanted a copy of my Civil War report. If you don't mind, I'll be in my room."

Helen smiled. "He was nice. Helped me carry the groceries to the front door before leaving. I'll have dinner ready in an hour so come down by then."

"Okay. Thanks."

Annabeth hurried up the stairs and burst into her room. She locked it, pressing her back to the frame and waiting for anyone to come following her but luckily no one did. She distantly heard her twin brothers entering the home. She rubbed the side of Percy's lamp.

Percy's figure materialised in front of Annabeth. The smoke trail connecting him to his lamp seemed darker than before. She saw the trail before she saw Percy himself because it stood out so prominently in her white and yellow room. He sat on her bed. Percy looked better than a few minutes ago in the kitchen but he was biting his lip in trepidation.

"You okay?"

He nodded. Annabeth didn't miss his flickering gaze. She dropped down on the bed next to him, pulling at her fingers. How was she supposed to comfort him? She barely understood why he was upset in the first place. Instead, Annabeth nudged him and gave him an almost child-like, reassuring grin.

A smile tugged on one end of Percy's mouth. "Sorry, I freaked out on you back there. I was surprised, that's all."

"But why would Luke surprise you? And what did you mean when you said he was a genie?"

"It's a long story."

"I have all evening. Tomorrow is a Friday and I've got nothing due in school. Besides, you owe me an explanation. You ruined whatever chance I might've had with Luke"

Percy wrinkled his nose. "I'm surprised you're into Luke. He's nothing like the kind of person you'd be attracted to."

"As if you know the kind of person I'm attracted to. You don't even know who Luke is."

"I know Luke better than you do. He's not that great when you know what he is and what he's done," Percy cleared his throat. He glanced at his hands first and then lifted his gaze to meet her eyes. "I just realised something."

"What?"

He jutted his chin out towards her bedside table. The rule book Aphrodite gave her all those days ago sat by her lamp, one of its pages crumpled and sticking out from underneath the cover like dog ears. Annabeth faced Percy again, bewildered as to what he was trying to tell her.

"Rule number one," Percy recited having memorised the lines. "You must never ask your genie any questions. Genies are known to be quite sensitive and if they feel you are prying in their lives, they could have a violent outburst. To keep yourself safe from your unpredictable genie, phrase any question you have as an imperative statement with a command word."

Annabeth gasped. Percy didn't look like he was going to have a violent outburst but rather he was smiling in amusement. He laughed when she started on a string of apologies and for a moment the image of Percy whimpering on the kitchen floor seemed like it had never happened. There were no traces of his outburst barely twenty minutes ago.

"Don't worry about it," Percy said. "I like your questions. That's a stupid rule to keep genies in line." He reached out a hand for Annabeth to take. "Let me show you something. It'll explain everything."

Annabeth stared at his hand.

"I don't bite. Don't you trust me?"

"Honestly? No."

"Huh. Touché."

Annabeth took his hand.

**aoaoaoaoaoaoao**

The world around Annabeth spun. She felt like someone was tugging at her heart, wounding her up like a toy, as her stomach took rounds from her throat to her feet and back again. Annabeth was aware of Percy's hand in hers and she was clinging to him like there was glue between them. Everything came to a stop as quickly as it started but Annabeth refused to open her eyes or mouth for fear that the snack she ate a few hours ago would come out the wrong way.

"You can open your eyes now, angel," Percy told her.

Annabeth felt around. She was sprawled on the ground on some sort of carpeting. She opened her eyes and pushed herself to her knees before taking in the scene around her.

The oval room she was in was jaw-dropping. She had never seen somewhere so elegant and antique anywhere else. It was a living room with beige couches and bright red carpeting. There was a coffee table sitting in front of her with gold swirls up its legs and two open doorways leading elsewhere. Lamps dimly lit the room from where they were hung on the wall. Annabeth spotted a shirt tossed on of the two couches and a few books on the dining table. A painting of Percy's name sprawled in blue hung on the wall.

A yip came from nearby and a black ball came rolling out of one of two openings. No. It wasn't a ball rolling. Those were _legs _sticking out from underneath the ball. Percy's dog. The dog's eyes gleamed as it leaped over Annabeth's head.

"I was just here, buddy," Percy said. He pressed his dog's side to his cheek and stroked the fur on its face to reveal the dog's eyes.

"You weren't kidding when you said your dog was literally a fluffy ball."

Percy grinned. "Angel, this is Blackjack. He has a thing for sugar cubes and hates getting a trim no matter how much I insist." He leaned down to Annabeth on the ground and thrust Blackjack forward.

Annabeth placed her hand on Blackjack's head. "He's adorable. Where are we?"

"Inside my lamp. Look up."

Above Annabeth was a high ceiling of golden arches. But that wasn't what Percy was pointing at. On the corner was a large hole the size of a gold ball through which Annabeth could see her bookcase from her room. It was the spout where Percy usually came out of.

"We've shrunk," Annabeth said.

Percy tilted his head. "I'm not sure if shrunk is the right word. But I suppose yes, appearance is different in the lamp than outside." Blackjack purred in his hands. Annabeth almost asked Percy whether he was sure Blackjack was a dog because it was acting more like a cat than a dog.

"I love your place. I never thought the lamp would be so pretty from the inside. It's like a palace, gods."

Percy's dimples accentuated. "Thanks. Welcome to my humble abode, I guess."

He offered his hand and Annabeth took his help to stand. She fell onto the soft couch behind her and Percy followed her move, scratching Blackjack behind the ear (was that even an ear hidden underneath all that fur?) as the dog's little leg shook wildly.

"So."

"So?"

Annabeth asked, "Am I even allowed to be in your lamp?"

"According to the rule book, no. Rule number four states that you aren't allowed to enter our homes."

"Percy, I need to leave then. Why can't we talk outside?"

Percy didn't look at her. Blackjack continued yipping in his lap as he ran his hands down the dog's back. "We've already broken the question rule. No one is going to know you were here."

"But what if Helen walks into my room or something? I locked my door and she'll be knocking on it soon for dinner." She craned her neck to look out the spout. It seemed so far. So high.

"Annabeth."

Percy gave her a reassuring smile when she met his eyes. He leaned down to put Blackjack on the ground and the dog went running — rolling — out of the living room and into the same doorway it came through. The kitchen, Annabeth suspected.

"Why have you brought me here?"

"Don't freak out."

Annabeth nodded curtly. Percy was scaring her but she'd never say it out loud. She watched him closely as he raised his hands in the air and held them at a ninety degree angle. He closed his eyes.

The sound of metal clanging against metal came out of nowhere and the smoke trail connecting to Percy materialised. Annabeth yelped, backing away from Percy in surprise. Her heart skipped a beat.

The smoke trail was now chains. Chains with cuffs that circled Percy's wrist and went all the way to the ground. These weren't usual chains. They had a glowing outline even though the color was a dull grey. Every link of the chain weighed down to the floor like they could measure up to a hundred tons.

Annabeth followed the trail of the chains. They embedded themselves in the ground, disappearing underneath the couch and continuing behind it. She sat up, twisting to see it on the other side. The links were prodding out of the floor like a nail bent in the wall. They led up to a heavy, metal door that she hadn't noticed before. The chains wrapped themselves around the door, destroying the gorgeous wallpaper around it. Every place the chain went through the wall had been filled so there were no holes in the wall and no way to see what was beyond the door.

She couldn't speak for a moment. "Chains," Annabeth muttered. "You're chained to the lamp. That's what the smoke trail was."

He nodded. "Yeah. I've learned to make the chains somewhat disappear but it's such a powerful material that it leaves an obvious trail."

"I don't understand."

Percy twisted his fingers through some of the links on his right hand. "You've been taught that genies are creatures of isolation, right? Our lamp is our home. Our source of power. That's not a lie but it's misleading when you're told so little. When you see the big picture, it's a completely different truth. Maybe humans and genies were at peace at some point. Who knows? All I know for sure is that we're stuffed into a lamp, chained, and given to seventeen year olds to grant their wishes."

Annabeth stared at him with wide eyes. Chills seeped through her body and her grip on the couch cushions didn't falter.

"This material is called Silverbane. Depending on the amount I'm exposed to, it can limit my power. That's why I can't grant any wishes outside the rule book. I can't use my magic to my full ability. I can't escape either. It's the strongest material in existence."

"I'm so sorry, Percy," Annabeth whispered. It was genuine unlike the sarcastic apologies she gave his smart aleck taunts since she met him for the first time. "I'm so sorry you're tied up and chained. If only I could do something about it."

Percy shrugged. A small, lifeless smile spread across his face. "Hey, angel, you listening to me is already more than I was expecting from you."

"And what's beyond that metal door?"

Percy peered at it. "I don't know. It's been there for as long as I remember."

"Oh."

"I don't try to figure it out and I've given up trying to open it. The door is impossible to get through."

"And Luke… he's a genie? How do you know?"

"Right," Percy straightened. "Luke. He's definitely the same guy who came over. I don't remember much of him but I do recall his voice giving me tips on how better to wield my magic as a weapon. I don't know. As a child, I had always been a lot better than the normal genie. Luke warned me to never show anyone else what he taught me because otherwise the humans would put me somewhere other than a lamp. Then the next thing I know, he's whisked off to be chained to his own lamp."

Annabeth digested the information. "Luke's living among humans, though."

"That's the thing!" Percy said. His entire expression lit up and he leapt towards the couch Annabeth was perched on. "He escaped his lamp somehow! If you can just let me talk to him once, Annabeth, I swear I'll be in debt to you for the rest of my life."

"You want to escape?"

Percy rattled the chains. "Wouldn't you? I could be free. I've always been around Silverbane. I want to know what I can do with my magic when there's nothing restricting me." His voice was dreamy and hopeful as if he was sitting on a cloud thousand of miles away.

Annabeth swallowed. If his full ability could raise skyscrapers with his mind, it was safer to have him chained. She beat herself mentally for such a crude thought. No one deserved to be restrained.

"I need to get to Luke. Somehow. I hope he remembers me. I hope he helps me."

"Percy," Annabeth cut in. "You sound crazy."

He glared at her, lifting the chains. "Am I?"

Annabeth felt a pang in her heart. She ran a hand up and down her forearm. Her entire face was on fire. Was it the embarrassment of knowing the truth of his captivity while she roamed free? Pity? Or was it on a personal level, pity for Percy and regret for the way she treated him? Then again, he was the one who who called her a cauliflower and foiled his first impression. She wasn't at fault for her snarky one liners. Percy started that whole war.

"Okay," Annabeth licked her dry bottom lip. Despite Percy's upbeat talk, she was still skeptical hearing Luke was a genie. "I'll talk to Luke first. Nothing is happening until I know for sure what we're getting ourselves into. I can't promise anything."

Percy flung his arms around Annabeth and she squeaked in surprise. He smelled like the ocean and the ends of his soft hair tickled her cheek from how Annabeth still kneeled on his couch while he stood behind it. He was taller than her but the way they were positioned put them at the same level. His arms around her felt strangely comforting.

Instead of returning the hug, Annabeth pushed Percy away. "I'm still mad at you for messing my chance with Luke. Genie or not, he's hot. And then you ate my entire bowl of Hershey kisses. Don't get too excited."

His smirk was back. "Oh, I'm counting on it, darling."

**aoaoaoaoaoaoao**

Friday morning came round. Annabeth was up all night, playing with the handle of Percy's lamp as she lay cuddled in our own bed. He called out at one point, projecting his voice through the spout, telling her to quit tapping it because he was trying to get some sleep. She put the lamp away but it didn't matter because sleep still didn't come until much later.

It was near seven in the morning when Annabeth woke up to her father, Frederick, yelling at her from downstairs. She threw back the covers and jumped out of bed. In the past three years of school, Annabeth had never once been late. She wasn't going to make today the first time. It was a hassle pulling on her jeans and a shirt before tossing Percy's lamp in her backpack along with her school books for the day.

"Hey!" Percy's voice came from the lamp.

"Shut up. I'm a hurry."

"At least put my lamp the right way up. More than half my kitchen is in my living room now and my dog and I are leaning on the ceiling. "

Annabeth adjusted the lamp and went to zip her bag.

"Hey!"

"What do you want now?"

"Don't zip the bag. I like fresh air from outside."

Annabeth grabbed the lamp and set it on her desk this time. "You're gonna be annoying all day and I'm leaving you here."

"I've been told my crap talk is very endearing."

"Yeah, okay. I'm leaving without you."

Percy's voice sent her a joyous 'bye' as Annabeth ran out her room with her backpack slung over one arm. Helen was waiting for her downstairs with the car engine on and her two younger twin brothers sitting in the backseat. They both hooted her name as she sat down the passenger seat. Outside, Frederick slung his own jacket over his shoulder and set off on walking down the street with a briefcase in hand.

Helen brushed her hand over Annabeth's forehead to check for a fever. "Are you feeling okay? You slept in late today."

"Fine," Annabeth said. "Jolly. Absolutely fine and jolly."

Helen raised her eyebrow but didn't question Annabeth's strange response. Instead, the car pulled out of the driveway and both Mathew and Bobby in the backseat rushed to the window to get a glimpse of Frederick as they passed him on the street.

The school day passed as a bore. Piper slept through biology and then Annabeth spent all of English trying to figure out Frank Zhang's secret to acing every test. She ended up doodling through math and when the teacher came around, they saw a giant bird sitting on top of the bucket illustration for which Annabeth was supposed to find some angle. Leo wasn't at school that day so Annabeth wandered around during lunch until Piper and some girl named Katie invited her to sit with them. Her last two subjects of the day passed in a blur. Annabeth wasn't paying attention which was probably a bad idea because their teacher announced an upcoming test for a topic that completely went over Annabeth's head.

Her last lesson of the day, Annabeth slung her bag and blonde over her shoulder. She fell into the crowd moving towards the door. It was a Friday afternoon and she was ready to relax this weekend. It had been a crazy week getting Percy as her genie and then actually talking to Luke for the first time to making her first wish.

The teacher tagged her before she got out of the classroom. "Annabeth."

"Miss?"

"I've been told to alert you that the student you showed around a few days ago has decided to join Goode. Many of the new student's classes match yours save for a few electives here and there. Since you bonded so well with the new student, we were wondering if you could take her under your wing."

"Rachel?"

The teacher nodded. "Rachel Elizabeth Dare. As you probably noticed, she is challenged mentally and it would do her mother a favor knowing that someone is looking out for Rachel."

"I don't mind doing that but honestly I don't know if Rachel is okay with it. I'm not sure if she likes me."

"Nonsense. Her mother said Rachel was pleased to have been shown around by such an 'princess with pretty white hair', as she put it."

Annabeth laughed nervously. Rachel's face flashed in her mind. Her smile turning into the sinister but terrified scream when she saw the genie lamp in Annabeth's hands. Her frazzled red hair she sniffed and said was black. Her mother chasing after her, begging Rachel to calm down.

Someone's familiar voice passed by the open door of the classroom and Annabeth glanced down the hallway to see which way they went. She thanked the teacher and hurried out. Her teacher yelled out their goodbye but Annabeth was long gone already. She tripped over her own feet trying to catch up the voice and before she could stop herself, she grabbed Luke Castellan's arm in front of her.

Luke spun around. "Hey, Annabeth."

"Hi. Hi," Annabeth gulped. She should've thought through what she was going to say before barrelling towards him. Worst part, she couldn't even look Luke in the eyes for the fear she'd faint. It was one of those situations where someone was so hot they couldn't be looked at directly. "Hi. Again."

"Hi," Luke said, raising his eyebrow. His friend next to him gave Annabeth a small wave.

"I was just wondering," Annabeth said, dodging some high schoolers moving the opposite way. "How did your Civil War project go?"

"Oh. It was great, thank you. Your report helped me loads."

"You made quite an impression on Helen helping her with the groceries," Annabeth chuckled lightly. Her laugh faded seeing Luke didn't react. "She said it was sweet you to help her."

Luke smiled and Annabeth was sure someone did really faint behind her. "I'm glad I could help."

"You know I have a friend coming to town. He… said he knows you. His name is Percy Jackson. Maybe you know him too?"

"I don't know anyone named Percy Jackson, sorry."

Annabeth frowned. There wasn't a single hint of hesitance of uncertainty in Luke's voice. Either he was incredibly good at acting or Percy was mixing up his Luke with Annabeth's Luke (one day, Annabeth swears, that was going to become real at the alter) like she suspected he was. "Percy with the black hair and green eyes and magician dude doesn't ring a bell?"

"No. Maybe your friend was thinking of a different Luke."

"I'm sorry to have bothered you then."

"It's fine," Luke said."I like talking to you."

Annabeth's heart burst. "Oh?"

"Yeah. You're different to all my other friends. A good different. Pretty, intelligent, unique."

Annabeth blushed. "That's awfully kind of you."

"I only speak the truth," Luke winked. "I've got to get to football practice now. I'll see you around, okay?"

"Yeah. Have fun."

Luke saluted her before he separated and went down a separate route that she knew went to the changing rooms. Annabeth stood still for a moment. She couldn't believe what she just heard, feeling like a fairy princess. It only took one line from someone like Luke to make her feel so beautiful and loved. Damn, he was a magician.

Magician. Genie.

Annabeth smile dropped from her face. Luke hadn't given her any hints telling her he was a genie. Percy was going to be upset hearing it but she knew he wasn't going to leave the chase. It was almost unnerving remembering the determination written all over Percy's face. Annabeth dug out out her phone from her pocket. Percy was a problem for later tonight when she got home. Right now, her best friend needed an update. Moreover, Annabeth needed to know how much Leo knew about the captivity of his own genie, Hazel. It was impossible to think that Percy was the first one ever to have shown their human the chains that keep genies in their lamps.

Somehow, the more she thought about it, those chains around Percy's wrists felt so much more significant than her measly crush on Luke.

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**I need a favour! There's gonna be a part of this story where bromance happens and I need to know whether you guys prefer Percy and Jason bromance or Percy and Grover bromance. Let me know either in a review or I've put up a poll on my profile. Do vote because it would affect the way the story goes!**

**As always, thanks so much for all the amazing reviews :) I was so happy with them, I was jumping on my bed. Keep them coming! I hope this chapter kept up with your expectations! And I promise, this story is a PERCABETH story. I know it seems weird with all the Lukabeth but it'll be over soon!**

**Love you all :) See you next Friday!**

**~Ami**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own the PJO characters.**

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Chapter Five

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The mechanic shop Leo worked at didn't have a door. It was just two sliding blocks that Leo's father kept open throughout the day and then locked at night to keep the vehicles inside from getting stolen. It was a walk-in through an area as big as a car showroom with countless vehicles pushed to the wall. At the far end of the shop was a station to fix smaller devices like microwaves or phones.

Annabeth breezed through the entrance. A familiar employee was grunting as he pumped air into a car with a flat tire as he saluted her when she passed. She gave him a half-hearted smile and spotted Leo working on a truck in the far corner. She sped up.

Leo grinned at her from underneath the hood. He was scrawny compared to Luke but compared to the normal human, Leo was far stronger. He could bench press up more than two hundred pounds and it all came from the heavy lifting involved in working at the shop.

"So you finally came around."

Annabeth flung herself on the now closed hood of the truck. She reached forward and swiped off a smear of black oil from Leo's forehead. "I finally came around. You weren't at school today."

"Dad had a vehicle due to return today but he was no where near finished. I stayed back from school to help him and the client went away less angry than he did last time."

"What?"

"You don't want to know. The police were called the first time."

"Oh."

Leo bent down to grab his toolbox. He hoisted up on a nearby shelf. "So what happened with you and Luke yesterday? You didn't text me about it and I haven't had the time to call you."

Annabeth launched into the story without hesitation. She left out Percy going crazy and claiming Luke was a genie. That still sounded weird coming out of her mouth. "I think Luke and Thalia have something going on. When I asked him if they were dating he didn't say yes or no. But they were meeting up for dinner and he ran off without saying bye when I took a moment in the kitchen."

"What an asshole. And dammit, I really thought I had a chance with Thalia. I chased her down the hall yesterday and she looked at me in the eyes for the very first time."

"You're _so _creepy, Leo."

Leo spread his arms out. "I have a fetish for terrifying girls who want rip my limbs off."

"And you won't believe what happened today. I saw Luke after school and he told me he liked talking to me. Something about how unique I am." Sarcastically, "For a second I thought I could actually go with him to the ball."

"So you're saying Thalia's all mine?"

"No. We're still both single and are probably going to end up going to the Christmas Ball together. So you get your shit together because at least if we're going together, we might as well look the part. We've got to find time to go dress and tie shopping."

"Actually, there might be someone else I'm going with."

Annabeth gave him a look of pure loathing but she broke out into a smile a heartbeat later seeing him wiggling his eyebrows like he always did. "Anyway," Annabeth started. Her backpack fell from her shoulder and kissed the ground. "I was wondering something else which was why I came here in the first place. I wasn't here to talk about our failure with Luke and Thalia."

"Hit me."

"About your genie."

Leo flipped a wrench in the air and caught it expertly before moving towards a second vehicle inches away from the truck. "What about Hazel?"

"Have you ever been inside her lamp?"

"Have _you_ been inside your genie's lamp?"

Annabeth nodded slowly and Leo's jaw dropped open. He whipped around, checking for whether other people were listening in before grabbing Annabeth's arm and pulling her off the hood of the truck. He hissed, "Are you crazy? Annabeth, rule number four! It clearly says we aren't allowed to go in the genie lamps. Aphrodite said there were serious consequences."

"But have you ever wondered why that's a rule?"

"No. Because it explains itself if you read the rule book. Genies are creatures of privacy and isolation. They don't take well to you asking to go into their home. Exactly why you can't ask your genie any questions."

"My genie invited me. I didn't ask him to take me there. And you won't believe what I saw."

"Wonderful. Your genie invites you into his home and you go. Annabeth. You told me that Percy was an asshole."

"Percy isn't that bad. And, please Leo, I'm serious. I saw chains. Percy was chained to his lamp with this metal… Silverbane, I think it was. He can't ever leave and he can't explore his magic to figure out his full capability."

"No way."

"Leo, I need to know if it's just Percy chained up or this is for every genie. When Luke came over, Percy heard his voice and he's convinced that Luke is some sort of genie who escaped his own lamp." Luke didn't seem like a genie to Annabeth with the way he talked and acted but when she looked at it from Percy's view, Luke was awfully suspicious. After all, she remembered, she hadn't told Percy the name of who was coming over last night.

"Why are you even telling me this?"

"I'm telling you to pay more attention to your genie. I've already broken two rules in the book. I've been asking Percy questions since yesterday and now I've been in his lamp too. He hasn't had a single violent outburst. Not everything the rule book says about genies is right. Why don't you ask Hazel tonight about whether she's chained? Maybe she'll show you herself and your doubt will disappear."

Leo straightened up from his work in the hood of the car. "Annabeth, you're digging yourself into a hole. You've only had your genie for three days. You told me Percy liked playing jokes on you with his magic. This could easily be one of those jokes."

"No. I know this isn't one of Percy's tricks."

"Annabeth."

"If you'd just listen to me—"

"_Annabeth_."

Annabeth deflated. Leo threw his wrench back into his toolbox and it clanged with the rest of his tools in an echo. He reached forward and grabbed her shoulders before staring at her intently. He stood a few inches taller than her and she had to tilt her head upwards to look him in the eye. His were a darker shade of brown than usual and lips were stone.

"You're actually serious about this," Leo muttered. He dropped his arms and gave her a look of utter disbelief. "I thought maybe it was a joke. But you're serious."

"Please talk to Hazel tonight. For me."

Leo sighed. "Look, you should get home. I have a lot of work to finish up today and I don't know if we can go out for dinner like we wanted to."

"Oh. Yeah, that's fine." No, it wasn't. They hadn't hung out in months.

An older man hooted from across shop and whistled for Leo to go over. Annabeth waved at the man, Leo's dad, and he gave Annabeth a thumbs up as Leo grabbed some tool from his box and left to help his dad. He gave her a tight smile before turning around and disappearing behind some cars. Annabeth was left alone with her hands clasped together, eyes closed. She should've have said anything.

But she _can't _be the first one to know about chains. It's impossible.

Annabeth bent to hoist her backpack on her shoulders again. She gave Leo a smile across the shop as she made her way to the entrance but he didn't see her, buried in his work. Her nails dug into her palm. She had small fights with Leo all the time. His first impression was probably that she was out of her mind for breaking the rules but Annabeth knew Leo like the back of her hand. Leo was curious and he was going to go home and take out Hazel's lamp to ask about chains.

But maybe she should've waited before telling Leo. If anyone else found out, authorities won't hesitate to show up at Annabeth's door.

But it was Leo.

Leo wouldn't tell.

**aoaoaoaoaoaoao**

Saturday morning was a slow start. She spent all morning on her desk, finishing off homework and fixing some of her artwork she was planning to submit to a competition soon. She rubbed the lamp to let Percy out per his request around eleven and he sent her on two different runs down to the kitchen with bags of chocolate. It brought on a concerned Helen who was convinced Annabeth had a tape worm. She wasn't doing refilling the bowl because she was stubborn but she secretly liked it when Percy made the chocolates dance in the air like a musical number from Beauty and the Beast. She was sure Percy had picked up on it; he told her her awe with his magic was addicting.

"I don't actually like chocolate much."

"Percy, you ate three entire bowls of Hershey's kisses. I'm surprised how you don't have an upset stomach."

Percy grinned and his fingers sparked. "Magic has its perks, darling."

"Great. Next time I'm constipated, I'll be sure to call on you to go all doctor on me."

Annabeth called his laugh a hyena and it put him in tears.

**aoaoaoaoaoaoao**

"So I've been having some weird dreams lately."

Annabeth's eyes glazed over the words in the novel open on her lap. "Oh?"

"Yeah. Cows. Lots of cows in my dreams."

"Wow, Percy. Impressive."

Annabeth lifted her gaze to catch Percy fiddling with his chains. She had been talking to Leo a few hours ago but neither of them brought up the topic of Hazel in chains. She hadn't even told Percy about her talk with Luke and that was something still haunting her in the back of her head. Percy had mentioned it a couple times since Friday, brainstorming ways they could approach Luke about it and Annabeth wasn't sure how to admit she talked to Luke. Percy was convinced Luke was a powerful genie who had gone crazy and that only confused Annabeth further.

"I think I have a new fear now," Percy mused.

"Of what, cows?"

"Yes. Cows. You'll be surprised what they can do. Terrible things."

"Yeah. They moo."

"Hey!"

"Shut up, Percy, I'm trying to read."

**aoaoaoaoaoaoaoao**

"Your mother is coming over. She just texted me saying she was on the way. Athena is going to be here any minute."

Annabeth's heart plummeted. So far, this weekend had gone over smoothly but here it was, Sunday night, Helen with the big bomb. Annabeth thought she had dodged Athena completely with the biology test but of course that aspiration was inane. Athena always made sure to visit the week Annabeth had a test.

"Helen, you could've told me that earlier."

"I only just found out myself. You know how Athena is. Unpredictable."

Numbly, Annabeth made her way back to her room. She had locked it from the outside because she knew Percy was out of his lamp and sitting on her desk. She undid the lock and closed the door behind her. Without acknowledging Percy's presence, her vision tunnelled on the folder she kept her biology test in. Its ninety-two blared in red on the front. There shouldn't a reason for Athena to be upset, Annabeth reminded herself. Her test was a ninety-two. It didn't matter if the ninety-two was from a wish because Athena wouldn't ever know.

"What's wrong?"

Annabeth motioned to the lamp. "You better get back in there. My biological mother is coming and she's not a big fan of genies. I have to hide your lamp in case she tries to do anything."

Percy lowered the plate he was holding. A half-eaten pizza sat on it and a pepper shaker was flying in the air above it. "Is it the Athena woman you said terrified you?"

"Yep. Same terrifying woman is currently on her way here."

"Okay," Percy rose in the air and his legs criss-crossed. "Hey, don't look down. You'll be fine. There's no way Athena can be mad at you with your ninety two, you Wise Girl. I mean... considering we're the only ones who know what you spent your first wish on."

Annabeth snorted anxiously at the nickname. "Thank you, Percy. Now disappear."

Percy did as he was told and Annabeth tucked his lamp into her closet. She hoped there was enough light and air for him to be okay before she remembered his status as a genie and closed the closet door without another thought.

Downstairs, Annabeth heard the sound of the main door opening and closing. Frederick and Helen's voice came through, greeting the guest at the door who was undoubtedly the blonde-haired older woman who called herself Athena. Annabeth cradled the biology test in her hands and descended the stairs to meet her mother.

Athena's steely grey eyes landed on her the second she hit the last step. Annabeth gave her a small smile despite how hard her heart was pounding against her ribs.

Compared to Frederick and Helen, Athena was stone-faced and serious. She wore her usual black pencil skirt with a white blouse neatly tucked into it. A few blonde curls escaped from her pony tail but that was evident after a whole day of what Annabeth guessed were meetings. That was all Athena did. Work. Work day, work night, work twilight. And she expected Annabeth to do the same.

Annabeth had always wondered what ran through Athena's mind for every visit. Athena lived in a penthouse that cost her three million to buy and another twelve million to furnish. A maid was in and out of her penthouse every day that calmed Athena's insane cleanliness obsession. And here Annabeth and her family of five were living in: a landed house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It took a few thousand to furnish and they couldn't afford to hire someone else to help maintain it and they didn't have the time to care for it the way Athena cared for their home. There were legos on the ground and books, clothes, plates on the couch. An entire half of the dining table was covered in Frederick's work from the university he worked at.

"Annabeth," Athena said. She put down her purse on the couch but made no move to sit down herself. "Your test. I see you got it back."

"A ninety-two, Mom."

"Show me."

Athena didn't shuffle through the rest of the pages of the test. She stared stoically at the large ninety-two in red, her eyes shifting from Annabeth to the test and back again. "So if I asked you some question in here, would be able to tell the answer to me correctly?"

Annabeth tensed. She couldn't. She hadn't gotten the time to review her mistakes yet. "Of course."

"You're quite proud, aren't you, Annabeth?"

"It's one of my highest scores."

"She was studying a lot for that test," Helen butt in gleefully. She ruffled Annabeth's hair. "I'm proud of her and the effort she put in."

"Stand up straighter when I'm talking to you, Annabeth. Perception matters and judgement is everywhere. Learn to act like a graceful woman or you'll suffer for the rest of your life as you're doing now. Look at you. Your hair is a mess. You're wearing pyjamas with fire trucks all over it. Don't I give you enough money to buy yourself proper clothing?"

Annabeth straightened her back. She clasped her hands in front of her like Athena had taught her from a young age. She was meant to grow into Athena's business. She was the future that Athena was preparing for because one day, someone had to take over the billion dollar worth agency Athena was running. Somehow, though, it didn't seem worth it.

"Annabeth has a lot going on, right now," Helen said. She ran a hand through Annabeth's curls. "Besides, it's not like she's going anywhere. Pyjamas are fine."

"Ninety-two," Athena ignored Helen, "is a difficult score to get. An excellent score, really."

Annabeth chest loosened.

"Of course," Athena said. "It would've been great if you truly deserved this score rather than cheating your way to the top."

Annabeth's mouth dropped open. Before she could react, she felt a hand connect with her cheek with a loud slap and she was stumbling backwards in confusion. Annabeth touched her cheek tenderly and winced at the wounds Athena's nails left on her cheek. She tasted blood from biting her lip so hard, trying to keep from screaming out loud. Their family would lose all their pride and reputation as a sweet, happy family if the neighbours heard Annabeth. No one had to know about how their family had to depend on Athena for something as simple as education.

Athena stared her down, towering over Annabeth in her polished, black heels. Annabeth wisely kept her mouth shut as Helen ushered her twin-brothers out of the room in the background. Frederick was demanding that Athena keep her hands to herself. Tears fell faster than Annabeth could control them.

"Lie."

"Mom," she croaked.

"What was your score on this test, Annabeth?"

"Ninety-two." Annabeth's eyes burned.

"What was your score on this test? Last time I ask."

"Forty. I got a forty. I'm sorry."

"You really thought you could get away with the wish, couldn't you? I have a deal with every single one of your teachers, Annabeth. They send me an email immediately after they've marked your test. Your teacher may have been affected by this wish you made but I can't be fooled."

"I'm sorry. I was just so scared about what you'd think."

Athena's raked across her cheek again and Annabeth fell backwards. This time, Helen barged into the room and hoisted Annabeth back up to her feet. She protested, arguing with Athena who gave Helen a calm but cruel glare. Athena barely fought back. She straightened her blouse when Helen's voice rose in volume. A small smirk played on her lips as if all Helen was to her was a talking cockroach.

"I don't want to see a score like this every again. I don't want to hear another lie coming out of your mouth. You know I'll catch you no matter how many wishes you make."

Annabeth nodded, wiping away the tears dripping onto the floor. Her biology test was in smithereens on the floor and she couldn't do anything but curl up in a ball and cry.

"Go to your room," Helen urged her. "Do you want me to come or do you want to be alone?"

"I want my genie," Annabeth said. "Don't come."

Helen's finger gently went over the spots forming on Annabeth's cheek. "I need to bring you something to help this inflammation. And Annabeth, don't make any wishes. Please. Your father and I are there for you."

"I'll be okay. Please." Helen was trying but there was no hiding from the truth. Annabeth was Athena's puppet. It didn't matter if Percy could change anything with her eight remaining wishes. Annabeth was always going to be Athena's puppet.

Annabeth hobbled up the stairs on her own, locking her bedroom door behind her and spent a few minutes sniffling on the ground. A mirror at the far end of the room showed her a stuffy face with bloodshot eyes. Her cheeks were stinging and blood in the shape of Athena's nails were evident under her right eye. Her entire face was red. She swayed under her own weight and went to take Percy's lamp out.

Percy appeared in his usual swirl. He didn't look particularly happy or sad but Percy saw her face and his jaw fell.

"I have another wish."

Percy remained silent.

"I have another wish and you're not going to tell me no. I wish my biological mother will get into a car crash on the way home and that I inherit her fortune."

"Angel, no."

"You're my genie," Annabeth insisted. Another round of tears streamed down her face and she collapsed on her bed. "Give me this wish. _Please_. I shouldn't even be saying please. It's your job."

"Just like it's my job to stay chained in a lamp, right? Don't talk down to me."

"I need this wish. You don't understand."

"First off, your wish is against the rules. Second, I'm not letting you make a wish when you're sitting here crying. That's not what you need right now. You're going to regret killing your mother the second you wake up tomorrow morning."

Percy stood and neared Annabeth. He cupped her face and a warm, tinging sensation spread across her cheeks. The stinging disappeared completely and when Annabeth reached up to touch the cuts her mother's nails made, she felt nothing. She sucked in a breath, staring at her fingers. Percy had healed her and it only weighed down on her. She was cruel to not have told Percy about her conversation with Luke when it was clearly all Percy was thinking about.

"Now stop crying," Percy said.

Annabeth pressed her forehead to her palm. She took a few minutes, taking one deep breath after another. Percy's voice above her was soothing and he was patting her back comfortingly. Despite their first interaction, he turned out to be caring. Maybe it was because Annabeth was the only person or genie Percy was going to be talking to for the rest of his life so he decided to put some effort into a friendship. Or perhaps it was because he opened up to her about the chains that they weren't insulting each other every time someone opened their mouth.

"I have to tell you something," Annabeth hiccuped. Her voice was clearer and tears weren't running down her face anymore. "I should've told you before. I think I wanted to keep Luke to myself, I'm not sure why. I talked to Luke. I'm sorry. I completely messed up and said the wrong things."

Percy's expression darkened. "You talked to Luke?"

"He… he said he had no clue who you were. I should have taken a more subtle approach, I'm sorry. I should have told you when I talked to him on Friday but I don't know if he really is a genie. He seemed completely normal." Was she good for anything. Another round of tears started.

"Stop crying first. I can barely hear what you're saying."

"I'm need a wish. Please. Please don't do this. Grant me my wish. I'm sick of being a failure. I want to be free from her."

Annabeth's throat was closing up. She choked, clawing at it as black spots danced in her vision. Her face might've been healed but she felt like something was holding a lighter to it. As if there were blisters all over her face and every time she touched one, it sent spirals of pain down her body. She hugged herself, rocking in the same position. Percy leaned in closer and continued rubbing her back.

"Angel, breath. You're breaking. Do you even know what you're saying? You want to kill your own mother. I can't let you make that choice in this mess you're in right now. I can feel your anxiety standing two feet away from you. That's not a stable condition."

"No, Percy, please. Now. I need this wish _now_. I can't handle the pressure anymore. Back before I got you, I used to want to slit my wrists and die but now I can make a wish and change my life. Please."

Percy's face was ashen. He knelt to the ground so his arms were draped over her knees. The green in his eyes looked more blue in the moment and he raised his hand, pinky sparking. The trail of smokey chains behind him wavered. "I'm sorry. Trust me, you'll feel better in the morning and you'll thank me for not granting this wish." He touched her forehead and Annabeth's whole world went black.

* * *

**Ugh that wasn't great, I'm sorry. It's kind of a filler chapter to put a break in between all that genie stuff but exciting stuff is coming soon!**

**Also, vote on which bromance you think is better as a review or the poll on my profile. It's still a while before I get to the bromance chapters but it's always good to get ahead with the plans! The vote so far are below.**

**Percy and Grover: 9**

**Percy and Jason: 9**

**Review, Favourite, and Follow!**

**~Ami**

**P.S.: I might not be able to update this week since I'm going on a trip but I'll be back soon after! So I'm so sorry, you all have to wait two weeks before the next update :(**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own the PJO characters**

* * *

Chapter Six

* * *

Annabeth woke up to the sound of someone hammering nails and whistling. Groggily, she tucked herself deeper into the sheets before she remembered the day and her eye caught the clock on the wall. Monday. School. Great. She had play babysitter for Rachel Dare all day. Her window was open at the far side of her room through which the hammering persisted. She turned over in bed, refusing to get out, and froze when she saw who was on the other side of the bed.

Percy's head lay on the side of her mattress. The rest of his body was sprawled on the ground and his arms were outstretched on either side. One of his hands skimmed her pillow. Annabeth could see a trail of drool coming out of the side of Percy's mouth. She tilted her head, trying to catch where his lamp was. How'd Percy end up here?

Last night hit her like a tsunami. Annabeth sat up in bed with a jolt, running her fingers down her cheeks but there were no spots or cuts that Athena gave her. Her breath caught in her throat. Though she would never admit it to him, it never ceased to amaze her what Percy was capable of with his magic.

Annabeth glanced at Percy again. He wasn't loud but if she paid attention, she could hear his soft snores. Percy was so calm when he was asleep, she didn't want to wake him up. His forehead was scrunched and his chest was rising and falling at a regular pace. Usually, Annabeth could see his shoulders tense and alert like he was waiting for something to go wrong, but now she could see he was completely relaxed.

"Percy."

Annabeth shook his arm and Percy woke up with a start. He wiped the train of drool down his arm. He stared at Annabeth like a muzzled bear before he snapped back into reality.

"Wait, what am I doing here?"

"I don't know."

Percy's eyes went wide. "Did I feed Blackjack last night?"

"… I don't know?"

Percy swallowed forcefully. He sat there, staring stoically at the ground at what Annabeth realised was his lamp. A few seconds later, he mumbled something inaudible and disappeared into the lamp in a swirl. Annabeth threw her over the side of her bed to grab his lamp on the ground and set it on her bedside table. Her room was uncomfortably happy this morning. A thick carpet of sunlight warmed her floor and her curtains were flapping in the breeze flowing through her semi-open window. Annabeth grabbed a towel and stepped into the shower.

Once again, she inspected her face in the mirror for any cuts and once again, she couldn't find anything. It wasn't the first time Athena lashed out at her but it had been a while since the last time. Part of Annabeth was frustrated Percy didn't grant her the wish but she knew he was right. No matter what Athena was, she was paying for a lot of expenses Frederick and Helen couldn't cover. Even if it was a contract relationship, Annabeth had to hang around Athena for a little more time.

Annabeth stepped out of her pyjamas and into the shower. She vaguely heard Helen's voice yelling at her little brothers through the walls over her bathroom.

"Hey," Percy's voice came from his lamp as she strolled back into her room. "Are you taking me with you to school today?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's not like you can come out but my friend, Leo, has been begging to see your lamp anyway."

"Mm, I've always known my lamp was prettier than most."

"Percy."

"Yeah?"

"I wanted to say thank you. I didn't want anything more to see Athena dead yesterday but you didn't grant me the wish because you said I'd regret it. You were right. So, thank you. Thank you for stopping me and thank you for healing me."

Percy went silent and Annabeth moved to rub the side of his lamp. He sprung out as usual, giving her smile she hadn't seen on him before. His eyes crinkled and it made Annabeth chest swell. He had been an absolute pain in the ass back when she first met him but it turned out, their friendship was working on a level of trust she never thought they'd get to.

"Honestly, it was the least I could do," Percy said finally. "I don't know if any other human would come into the lamp with me or even promise to try to help get me out. Anyone else would hand me over to the authorities the second I showed the inside of my lamp."

Annabeth threw her arms around Percy and buried her face in the crook of his neck; he was a whole head taller than her. Percy made a disgruntled sound of surprise and he stumbled back a few inches before calmly wrapping one arm around her waist and patting her back awkwardly with the second hand.

"Annabeth! We're going to be late!"

Annabeth sighed, stepping back from Percy's arms pointing at the lamp. "Get in. We have to go now."

She put Percy's lamp upright in the front pocket of her bag with the spout sticking out for the fresh air he wanted before swinging the bag over her shoulders. Another day of school. Time was just ticking away now before she graduated and finally left.

**aoaoaoaoaoaoaoao**

The first thing that happened when Annabeth arrived to her first class, calculus, was a conversation with her teacher before she could even enter. Rachel was inside, apparently, curled up in one seat while everyone else around her was deathly silent. All Annabeth had to do was "give Rachel a friend." Annabeth doubted that would be easy but the teacher promised that they'd take care of everything else. The teacher was grim and admitted that something had already gone wrong but per say Rachel's mother pleading and Rachel's clean record (and money, probably), they were ready to give Rachel a second chance under constant supervision.

Annabeth entered her classroom, her eyes narrowing at the silent room. Not everyone had arrived yet but it was unheard of for a classroom in the morning to be so silent.

Frank Zhang and sat in the front of the room, staring at a pile of worksheets on the teacher's desk. Piper was behind him, sitting with Katie Gardner. They both sent Annabeth small smiles and Piper motioned at the free seat next to her. Annabeth shook her head. Near the back of the classroom, Charles Beckendorf looked ashen. His girlfriend, Silena, was glaring at the redhead sitting alone.

Annabeth dropped down next to Rachel. "Hey."

Rachel sniffled.

"Hey, Rachel. Are you excited for your first day?"

"I have art next."

"That's exciting, right?"

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child."

Annabeth blinked. She hadn't expected such an outright answer.

Rachel finally turned around. Her cheeks were pale and hollow. Her red hair was hoisted on the top of her head in a bun with three coloured pencils sticking out of it. Her hands were shaking and obvious tear tracks stained her face.

Annabeth stare shifted to the paint-ridden clothes Rachel wore before travelling back to Rachel's green eyes. "Are you okay?"

Rachel snapped, and a giggle escaped. She scampered on the seat, sitting on it like a spider before reaching forward to tug at Annabeth's curls. "You have white hair!"

"Rachel?"

"Look at me! We're opposites; I have black hair!"

"I know," Annabeth muttered. "What beauty in black and white."

"Sing with me! _I followed the stars to a place I don't know._"

Annabeth watched Rachel go off, humming the song. Rachel's genie lamp sat in front of her on the desk in its golden glory. Rachel's fingers lazily stroked the lamp as she went on singing. Annabeth wondered what song it was. She considered searching up the lyrics of the song but decided against it when she saw Piper's eyes bearing into her.

_What_? Piper mouthed.

Annabeth pointed to the teacher, herself, and then knocked her head to the side to signal Rachel.

Piper made an 'o' with her mouth and turned back around to sit down as other students entered one by one.

Annabeth sunk into her seat as the teacher began the lesson. Rachel switched from singing in the middle of class to bursting into tears. At one point, the teacher had to take Rachel out and the entire class started talking the second Rachel went out. Charles Beckendorf was the first one, freaking out about how the school had to kick Rachel out or some "serious shit" was going to go down.

"Why?" Annabeth shot him down. "Okay, so, she's a little out of place. But that's what our school is about. Helping those who can't help themselves. It's not like she asked to be mentally ill."

"She's crazy! Have you noticed how Luke isn't here?"

Annabeth glanced around the classroom. It was true. Luke was in only one of her classes and it was marvelling how she missed that.

"Yeah, that was actually really weird," Piper said. "Poor Luke."

"What happened?"

"Shit happened," Charles said. He made the gesture of a bomb exploding with all the sound effects and Silena slapped his arm. He rubbed the spot. "Geez, okay, I'll get to the point. Rachel came in with her mom and Luke was already here with us. He was doing last minute homework. Then the teacher and Rachel's mom stayed outside to talk and Rachel attacked Luke!"

"I walked in halfway through," Piper continued. "Rachel was screaming like a lunatic. I mean, she is a lunatic. She swung a fucking chair at Luke's face and broke his nose. Then her mom and the teacher came in and stopped her. The second Luke left, Rachel was fine again and started up singing. It was like someone flicked a switch."

Charles shuddered. "I've always hated redheads. If Luke can't play in our football game tomorrow, I'll go insane."

Annabeth frowned. She was too hung up on the fact that it was Luke this happened to. Why was it _Luke _Rachel attacked? It didn't help his case knowing Percy thought of Luke as a crazy escapee. She glanced at her bag on the ground, hoping Percy was listening to everything happening.

The teacher and Rachel came into the class and the conversations died out. Rachel hugged Annabeth on the way back to her seat. She stroked Annabeth's curls. During the rest of the class, Annabeth scribbled down note after note from the board and solved the math questions as the teacher dished them out. All throughout, she heard Rachel's voice quietly singing her song on loop: "_I followed the stars to a place I don't know. I landed the moon on the sun. I can't tell why but I can't tell us apart. If only you'd just tell me how."_

The song was stuck in Annabeth's throughout next period. She had her elective then: design and technology. The rest of the time passed through quickly and when she saw Rachel again at the end of second period, she was happier than Annabeth had seen her all morning. Art, it seemed, really was therapeutic for Rachel. But then Rachel sat up straight for social studies, answering one question correct after another and left the entire class baffled. Annabeth could only stare at the way Rachel's eyes glittered and she wondered if it was a version of a completely sane, normal Rachel she was seeing. And then there was Rachel's genie lamp. Rachel was more than just protective of it. She was kept it hidden in her bag and every few minutes, she'd open the zip and whisper to her genie. Once in a while, she took it out and lifted it, talking to her genie about how everything looked around her.

Lunch came around at the end of social studies and once again, Rachel was glued to Annabeth.

"So you're on babysitting duty," Leo stated. He and Annabeth leaned against their usual tree at lunchtime, watching as Rachel whistled and drew shapes in the dirt on the ground. A teacher stood nearby with their eyes glued to Rachel.

"Still think she's hot?"

Leo made a show of considering it. "I mean, she's kinda cute. In the crazy kind of way."

"You're both insane."

"Nah, only one of us. Literally."

"I feel kind of bad," Annabeth said. "Apparently when her mom and the teacher were talking, some people overheard. Rachel's mom said this whole mental illness thing was a very recent thing. Less than a year ago, Rachel was completely normal and wanted to be an artist. She used to paint Claude Monét type sceneries of bridges over water. It was a quick decent into madness."

Leo and Annabeth slid down the tree. Annabeth took Percy's lamp out and grinned at Leo's expression. He grumbled, complaining that Annabeth got one of the rare coloured lamps while he had one that was a boring silver. Their fingers left prints on the side of the clean lamp and Annabeth knew she'd have to wipe it before she could let Percy see it. He had a bit of an OCD keeping the exterior of his lamp clean.

"So he's not an asshole anymore?"

"I think he's just that kind of joke-y personality with a twitch of arrogance," Annabeth said. "Athena came over on Sunday and slapped the hell out of me until her nails left me bleeding and Percy just healed me and I found him drooling on my bed in the morning."

"Yeah, you've also been in his lamp. Seems like you're finally getting along."

"That too. Did you talk to Hazel about her captivity?"

Leo shook his head. "I saw the smoke trail you were on about though. I know she can't move far away from her lamp. So, okay, maybe they're chained. What can we do about it? I don't want to bring it up to her because Hazel's that kind of small, meek personality. She's great but I don't think she wants to talk about the chains. Besides, what will I even be able to do about it? Nothing."

Annabeth shrugged. "I don't know."

Percy's lamp warmed under her fingers momentarily.

"Hey, where'd Rachel go?"

Annabeth scanned the grounds. The park benches a couple yards away were steaming with students and on the other side, people went on in and out of the building. But Rachel was no where to be seen and nor was the teacher who had their eye on her.

"Do we go look for her or…?"

"Nah. I bet the teacher who was watching her has followed her to the bathroom or something. She'll be fine if she went off alone anyway. More than half the teachers here are watching her like hawks."

That theory shot itself down when the same teacher ran up to them, frazzled. "Do you know where Rachel went?"

Annabeth squinted at the teacher from where she sat on the ground. It was too bright with the sun and no clouds to shield its glare. "No, I'm sorry. We weren't paying attention when she left. We can help you find her if you want?"

The teacher glared at her and Annabeth got the feeling she was supposed to have been watching Rachel as well. The teacher said, "I followed Rachel inside but she started running out of nowhere and I lost her."

"We'll look in the art department first," Annabeth offered. She stuffed Percy's lamp in the front pocket of her bag and grabbed Leo's hand to pull him up with her. "And if we find her, we'll bring her to the main office?"

"Yes," the teacher cursed and Leo snorted at the foul words. "I don't think sending Rachel to any school but a mental institution is beneficial for her like her family believes it is. We have to call her mother."

Annabeth and Leo went their own way from the teacher. Leo groaned into the sleeve of his hoodie. "Great, we lost a full grown redhead. I don't lose even my tools back at the shop or my math homework because of how scary my teacher is. That girl needs to go. Especially all those rumours of her attacking Luke and now Luke isn't able to see properly."

"He isn't?"

"You haven't heard?" They rounded the corner to the art department and went on peeking through all the windows of the classrooms to find Rachel.

"I know she attacked Luke and he went to the nurse."

"He's got a broken nose and a swollen eye. I guess we finally found someone who can beat down the oh-my-gods-look-at-his-muscles Luke." Leo wiggled his eyebrows and Annabeth went red.

"That was so long ago," she scoffed. "I don't think like that anymore."

"Shh, you can't hide from your best friend. I know what goes through your head every time you see him."

"You have it all wrong, Leo."

An awfully familiar scream tore through the art department and Annabeth shared an alarmed look with Leo. They ran after the scream, ducking past overhead decorations and dodging sculptures on the ground. Annabeth's bag weighed her down but she kept her speed, heart thumping wildly. Rachel's wailing, gut-wrenching cries got louder as they reached the end of the hallway and barged through a door.

Leo sucked in a loud gasp the second they entered. Rachel sat curled in one corner of the room, her head thrown backwards to scream while her arms wrapped around her legs protectively. All around her were A4 sized canvases of artwork. Annabeth bent down to pick one up. Her head spun. The painting was of a genie who was sparking, their blond hair doused in golden glitter. The genie was tied up in chains and blood matted the ground. In the painting, a shadow of someone else, also sparking, stood in the background with a whip in their hands. It was a dark, twisted painting of someone mentally sick. Every canvas on the floor had a different image of screaming, captured genies being whipped that sent chills up Annabeth's spine. Rachel was insanely protective over her genie but here she was, drawing genies over and over again in pictures no one wants to be in.

She pushed the canvases aside and kneeled next to Rachel. Rachel quieted as Annabeth stroked the redhead's back. Annabeth lifted her gaze to give Leo a grim expression of confusion.

Then, Annabeth noticed Thalia Grace.

Thalia Grace, the school gymnastics champion, stood near the door with her arms crossed over her chest. With a start, it dawned on Annabeth what was going on. Rachel was cowering. She was terrified. Of Thalia Grace. Annabeth leaned into Rachel, wrapping her arms around her. She felt strangely protectively over Rachel who couldn't defend herself. A baby, who needed someone to look out for them. Rachel hiccuped in Annabeth's arms, her screams nothing but soft sniffles now.

Thalia Grace. Annabeth's mind whirred. How did Thalia Grace fit the equation?

**aoaoaoaoaoaoaoao**

Annabeth was standing over her locker three hours past school ended. Leo was around with her until the two hour point before his dad called him for help with the mechanic store and it left her alone until her debate team was done with their day's work. Almost everyone else had already left and Annabeth was past the point of exhausted and hungry. She slipped the few books she needed for the night into her backpack before stumbling towards the bathroom to splash water on her face.

A thumping sound came from behind her as she exited the bathroom and Annabeth turned around, watching for movement in the well-lit hallway. There wasn't a teacher, a student, or even an ant anywhere around it and despite the lighting, she found it creepy.

The same sound of thumps returned and Annabeth spun around. Luke Castellan was at the end of the hallway, leaning against the lockers, his breathing shallow. His clothes were torn and blood splattered down his bare chest. They were all right to say Luke broke his nose but Annabeth couldn't see the swelling in his eye from where she stood. He was covered in mud and Annabeth's hand flew to her mouth when she saw angry red burns around his wrists. Did Luke get attacked?

Before Annabeth could say something, Luke pushed himself off the lockers and continued his way down the hall. He was stumbling with his eyes barely open. Luke passed by Annabeth without acknowledging her presence and she gasped at his eye. Rachel had hit him hard: the eye was so red, black, and big that he couldn't open it. His other eye squinted in the direction of the exit.

Luke disappeared through the doors of the school and into the parking lot. Annabeth stared at the way he had gone. First, Rachel and her terrifying paintings. Then Thalia Grace standing in the art room with a murderous expression. Then Luke, limping down the hall after what seemed like a fight with a bull.

Then Percy telling her Luke had escaped his lamp, telling her that Luke was a friend of his gone insane.

Every cell in Annabeth screamed at her to go home. But somehow, she couldn't. She started towards the doors Luke had left through. Something was happening and Luke was in the middle of it. Somehow, it connected to _her _genie who Annabeth was supposed to keep safe in the lamp. Annabeth wanted answers. And she was going to them one way or another. There was no one there to stop her anyway. Where was Luke going? What had he done?

She launched into a light jog, masking the sound of her feet hitting the ground.

_It wouldn't be hard, _Annabeth thought. _To follow someone who can't see out of one eye_.

* * *

**SORRY I KNOW THIS IS LATE. But in my defence... it's less than a day late so um... hehe? Thanks so much for all the reviews, guys, seriously :))) I got like 23 reviews or something on the last chapter and here I was thinking it was the shittiest chapter ever. I really hope this story still interests you guys and if it isn't, let me know so I can fix it up!**

**As for the BROMANCE, Percy and Jason won by a long way but I didn't want to leave out Grover 'cause in the original plot, the losing bromance was never going to meet. Soooo I changed the plot! Now both bromances will happen with equal importance, just at different times. I hope that makes everyone happy :)**

**Anywaaayy... I'll try to update on Friday next week but I have the ACT on Sat. so it doesn't seem likely :( Whenever I do update next, though, it'll be on a Friday!**

**Review, Follow, Favourite!**

**~Ami**

**P.S.: So far, no one's prediction about the story has been correct (one got close but somehow is still very far)!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own the PJO characters**

* * *

Chapter Seven

* * *

Annabeth wasn't sure what was going through her head when she left the school. She was trailing behind Luke who was trying his best to hide his limp. His school bag was draped over one shoulder carelessly. Annabeth could see Luke raising his right hand to touch his eye over and and over again. She felt bad for him: Rachel shouldn't have flung a chair at his face but then again, she was clinically insane. How could Annabeth blame Rachel?

Luke walked for a while. At the end, he didn't enter a neighbourhood or apartment building like Annabeth expected him to. She thought he'd go home and she would have to leave before Helen freaked out . To her surprise, though, Luke slipped through the fenced gate of an old museum.

A few feet from the fenced gate were stairs that went up to the double door main entrance. Luke disappeared through the double doors and Annabeth stepped out of the shadows, curiously surveying the museum.

The building was old and victimised to years of thunder and rain. It may have been majestic in its time but in the modern world, it was only a memory of the kind of Romanesque buildings that were popular a thousand years ago. The museum was a dark red, grey coloured from the outside which was unusual on its own if it weren't for the centuries old circus banners hanging down its front. Stained glass windows decorated the entire bottom floor but otherwise, there were no other windows anywhere on the building.

Back when Annabeth was nine, the museum was open to visitors. She wasn't sure why the museum had closed since then but she found it suspicious it hadn't been torn down. Maybe it was one of those old buildings continually renovated to preserve history? It definitely looked sturdy and clean from the outside.

Annabeth opened the fenced gate and stepped through. She hurried up the stairs to the main doors and pushed against the heavy wood. The circular, golden rings that served as the doorknobs clunked loudly as the door swung open.

Inside, it was pitch black. Annabeth lingered in the doorway of the museum. She turned away disdainfully. Like hell she was going to walk into a pitch-black museum. She let the door close before twisting on her heel to exit through the fenced gate.

Annabeth didn't get very far. She took one step off the stairs leading up to the main door and crashed into a barrier. Annabeth kicked what seemed like _air _but she hissed when her foot hit something solid. She palmed the invisible barrier, jaw dropping open. This wasn't there on her way in.

"Annabeth?"

Annabeth glanced at her backpack, fighting her drooping eyelids. "Percy?"

"Annabeth, where are we?"

"I…"

She glanced back at the museum and poked the solid wall in front of her again. Annabeth turned parallel to the wall and ran her hand along the invisible barrier, trying to find a way around it. She blinked to wake herself up. "Nowhere specific, Percy. We'll be home soon. I just went out exploring."

"I freaking hope it's nowhere because the amount of genie power I can feel here is overwhelming. It kind of feels like I'm back in my homeland and going to school with genies everywhere. What do you mean when you say you went out exploring?"

"I followed Luke. He looked suspicious so I followed him."

Percy went silent for a heartbeat. His voice came out raspy and panicked. "Oh gods, get out of there, Annabeth. You don't just walk into a genie's lair. Especially not when it's a genie who is walking free from the Silverbane chains."

Annabeth rubbed her eyes. "I know. I'm trying to get out, okay? It's just a little bump in the road. Tiny bump."

"Annabeth? Let me out. You sound tipsy."

"No! What if someone sees you?"  
An old lady walked past the fenced gate of the museum and raised her eyebrows. Annabeth gave the woman a disgruntled wave before glancing back at the museum building. God, she looked like a trespassing criminal now. She'd look great in an orange jumpsuit (would Leo join?).

She yawned. "Don't worry, Percy, we'll be gone soon."

Annabeth's knees buckled and she landed in the dirt, using only her arms to keep her chest from kissing the ground. It didn't help. Her head was spinning, her vision blackening. She could hear Percy's voice in the background but she was too slow to register what he was trying to say before she fell unconscious.

**aoaoaoaoaoaoao**

It was cold.

Annabeth wrapped her arms around herself, pinching her bare legs to keep them from getting frostbite but she couldn't help shiver even more. She opened her eyes, confused. Annabeth sat up. Wherever she was, it was so dark she couldn't see her own hands. Annabeth pushed herself backwards and she hit a smooth wall. A lump lay next to her and only upon touching it she realised it was her backpack.

"Angel?"

"Percy," Annabeth almost sobbed. She couldn't see the zippers of her backpack in the dark but she fumbled with her backpack until she found the familiar lamp.

Annabeth rubbed the side of the lamp and immediately Percy came out in a flush of sparkles. His blood vessels underneath the skin of his arms and chest were glowing blue like glow sticks in the dark. Annabeth could trace out the length of each vessel through the white shirt he wore. He looked like there were spider webs all over him. Annabeth stepped in closer to him so she could see her own hands in the glow his body emitted. She was covered in some dark material that looked awfully like dirt. The ground was made up of that same crumbly material.

She glanced up at Percy who staring at her hands stoically. "Percy?"

"What happened?"

"I was leaving the museum, where Luke went into, when this barrier of air caught me. I got knocked out before I could leave or call for help." She shivered, running her hands up and down her legs to generate any heat.

Percy snapped his fingers and something heavy fell onto Annabeth's shoulders. She stared at it, stunned, before muttering a thanks for summoning a jacket for her.

"I know where we are," Percy said. "It's a genie trap. Only really powerful genies can conjure one up like this but if you followed Luke, it's possible you crossed the boundary of their lair without knowing and the trap caught you. Any second the genies who created the trap will know we're in here and come looking for us. "

"Oh. That's terrifying."

Percy bent to pick up Annabeth's bag from the ground and his glowing vessels shimmered in the dark. "You have to carry my lamp. I can't go far from it because of the chains but you can take it around for me. All you need to do is stay close."

Annabeth silently slung her backpack on before cradling Percy's blue lamp in her hand. Her bottom lip quivered and she blinked furiously to stop the tears building in her eyes. She should never have followed Luke. Dumb. She was idiotic dumb. "We're going to die, aren't we?"

"No," Percy said abruptly."We're not dying. I learned about this in school. The trap is designed to keep us in and so it works as an maze in the dark. If we can find our way out before they get to us, we're safe."

Percy's hand found hers in the dark and he squeezed it in reassurance. His skin was warm; he wasn't affected by the cold.

"Genies, though," Annabeth said. "Do you mean more than one?"

"Yeah. No one genie can conjure a trap like this. Multiple genies are involved. That's why you, as a human, feel so weak and cold just walking around the trap. They've set it up well."

"So Luke isn't the only genie out here."

Percy's bare foot scraped a thorn in the ground and he cursed. A second later, he was fully healed and wearing a pair of thick-soled sneakers. "No, Angel, he isn't. I guessed that a while ago because if Luke got out, others may have gotten out too. It confuses me as well but we get out of here first before looking for how they did it."

"Maybe if it's genies, they'll see you and help you."

"I doubt that."

Annabeth tightened her grip on Percy's lamp. She hurried along to keep up with his long strides. Percy was like a superhero the way his vessels lit up. She offhandedly wondered why it was just his arms and chest area that glowed but then again, it would be more than creepy if all the capillaries of his face were glowing too.

"You're shaking."

Annabeth laughed nervously. "I'm a genie trap. I should be smiling instead of trembling."

"Well, you got us stuck in here in the first place, sweetheart."

Annabeth flicked his jaw and he jerked away in surprise.

"Hey, I'm saving your life here! I even conjured you a jacket; I think a thank you is in order."

"Get me out of here first. Then I'll say thank you."

"That depends on you keeping up with me."

Annabeth put on another burst of speed to jog alongside him.

Percy froze all of a sudden. Annabeth was about to ask him why but he put a finger to his lips and she zipped her mouth shut. Her heart beating at a million miles an hour. The sound of footsteps echoed nearby and her eyes widened in horror. Percy's glow flickered before it went out completely and they were left in pitch black. She was barely aware of Percy letting go of her hand to raise his arms awkwardly. A strange breeze passed through Annabeth's hair.

"I can't keep it up," Percy's whispered in her ear. "Dammit, angel. I'm not strong enough with these chains."

The footsteps were getting closer and closer.

Percy grabbed Annabeth's waist and dove backwards, pressing his back to the wall behind them. Annabeth buried her face in his chest, muffling her breathing into his shirt. The footsteps were louder than ever before they suddenly stopped. Annabeth turned her face, so her cheek was resting on Percy's chest, to see what happened to the footsteps.

Her jaw dropped open.

There was a man, probably a genie, standing directly next to Percy and Annabeth. She couldn't make out his exact features in the dark but just like Percy was seconds ago, the vessels in the man's chest and arms area were glowing golden. Her eyes adjusted to the contrast between his glow and the dark and when his body became clearer, Annabeth almost let out a scream.

The man's skin was in craters. She couldn't even call it skin. It was mountain rock with cracks all over it with some golden liquid pulsing underneath it like lava. The muscles lining the man's entire body were intimidating. There was no way he was human.

Genie. That's what this man was.

Annabeth watched, frozen against Percy, as the man walked a semi-circle around them. She heard Percy's breath hitch above her like he was straining. He was trying to put up some sort of invisibility barrier to keep them hidden from the man but it was clearly a struggle.

The man laughed out loud and his voice bounced off the walls. Percy visibly slumped and Annabeth grabbed his shoulders to keep him standing. His heartbeat was faster than hers.

"Percy Jackson," the man grinned slickly in his golden glow.

Percy's vessels started to glow again and his blue lit up the dark area even more. It was starting to look like a hallway with dirt for flooring and a ceiling that stretched miles above their heads.

"I have to say, I _am _surprised. I thought it was some raccoon who found its way in our trap. But Percy Jackson?"

Percy remained silent. Annabeth felt his jaw dig into her head.

"You do know who I am?"

Silence.

The man laughed again. He was holding a silver knife Annabeth hadn't noticed before that he spun in one hand effortlessly. "You don't remember who I am. Oh, that's absolute comedy, Jackson. I have to say you might have been an excellent recruit in our ranks one day but alas. And look, you're chained! How does it feel knowing how weak you are?"

Annabeth tried meeting Percy's eyes but he was fixated on the man.

"But then again," the man said. "You remember nothing so what do I expect from you? You don't remember your sweet mama. You don't remember your baby sister who you left behind when you went off to get chained to a lamp. Do you know what happened to them?"

Percy stiffened.

"You hadn't talked to anyone in three years, Jackson. How did it feel to finally open your mouth and speak again after your human rubbed your lamp cage for the first time? Was it nice to know your vocal chords still work? Or maybe you spent the last three years talking to walls?"

"Who are you? You genies should be supporting each other rather than taking each other down."

The man shifted his gaze to Annabeth. His entire body tensed and the golden glow of his vessels intensified. His grip around the knife tightened and his voice came out raspy and livid: "Human. I'm sick of your kind." He reached out and grabbed something in the air Annabeth couldn't see but a second later, Percy yelled out. The man had caught hold of Percy's chains and he was pulling at it to yank Percy away from her.

Annabeth stumbled towards Percy struggling on the ground, hugging his lamp but it took only one more yank from the man and she was on the ground as well. The lamp dangled from the chains in the man's hands He swung his arm and threw the lamp far from Annabeth. Percy went flying with the lamp and he landed in an awkward angle in the distance, crying out, as his glow flickered.

The man turned to Annabeth. His eyes were a wild red. "I'm going to rip your throat out."

Annabeth watched, horrified, as the man swung at Annabeth. His fist connected with her stomach and she choked, pressing her back to the wall. Annabeth ducked when he swung his knife but he grabbed her neck before she could move out of the way.

The man's lip curled as he tightened his grip on her neck. Tears welled in Annabeth's eyes. She would never see Helen or her dad or her baby brothers ever again. She won't ever see her dreams come true. All because she ignored Percy's warnings and followed Luke.

A lurching feeling trickled through her body. The man wasn't choking her. He was controlling something inside her body and turning her insides to mush. Could genies even do that? Her blood pounded in her ears and she slid down the wall, fighting for each breath.

"Annabeth!"

A streak of light passed Annabeth the man screeched, holding a hand that was spurting up in a million little bumps. He swung his knife at her again as she was struggling to her knees. The blade cut through her side, going all the way from her armpit to hip. Annabeth gasped. She couldn't run to Percy but a random bicycle handle appeared in front of her and she grabbed it. The handles sped to Percy, dragging Annabeth along with it.

She stopped next to a glowing Percy just as the hisses from the man behind them became threats.

Percy palmed her side and immediately the pain from her deep cut numbed. Annabeth grabbed his lamp and he helped her to her feet. Percy glanced over her head at the man. Annabeth didn't know what he saw but he grabbed her hand and yanked her away.

Annabeth ran until all that surrounded her vision were black spots. Percy led her down one turn after another and she followed in blind trust. They came nowhere near what looked like an exit. She broke down at some point and collapsed on the ground. "Why haven't we gotten out yet? We're so far from whoever that was. We've been running for hours."

"Twenty minutes actually. It can take minutes to hours to days to getting out of this trap," Percy said, crouching to her level. He was still glowing. "He's somewhere in the maze but he's going to find us again if we don't keep moving. Can you stand?"

Annabeth pushed herself to her feet but her knees buckled and she fell again.

"Great," Percy cursed. "That genie wasn't just sapping your energy. I'm not sure what he did but you won't be able to walk right now."

"Who even was that?"

Percy bowed his head. "I'm sorry, I really don't remember."

"Are we ever getting out of this maze?"

"I'm trying my best, angel."

"I'm sorry," Annabeth choked. "This is all my fault. I'm so, so sorry."

Percy brushed away her dirty blonde curls hanging over her eyes. "Hey, it's me who should be sorry. You never would've followed Luke if I hadn't asked you for help to get out of my lamp. It's foolish to think that I'll be able to. But whatever that is, we've got to keep moving. We have to find the exit."

"There's got to be another way. What if we burned the area down? Once everything is ashes, we can just walk out."

Percy stared at her. "I don't know if that'll work. Besides, my magic isn't the best with fire. I can conjure a lighter, sure, but to make it burn an entire building down? The fire will just disappear halfway through the job. It'll only work if I grant it as a wish."

"A wish. I can make the wish. I want to be home, not wandering around this maze for the next year. I wish I had a lighter and… an entire jug of ethanol."

Percy gave her a quizzical look. "Ethanol?"

"Trust me."

A wind fluttered through Annabeth's hair. Her skin prickled in the breeze.

"Your wish is my command."

**aoaoaoaoaoaoao**

Annabeth let the last drops of ethanol spill out on the ground. Her legs refused to stand straight so Percy's had his arm permanently around her waist, lifting her slightly off the ground. Thankfully, they hadn't run into the genie hunting them down which was a relief but a few times they heard sounds that belonged to other genies and they had to take a detour to end up wherever they were standing now. Annabeth emptied out the jar of ethanol on the ground and tossed the container to the side, flicking on the lighter in her right hand.

Percy's glowing blood vessels weren't as bright as before. "Wait. The fire might kill us."

"Then we'll just have to be faster than the fire."

"Angel. I'm serious. We shouldn't do this."

Annabeth tightened her one arm around Percy that kept her from falling. She felt like a child hanging onto his neck. "You said it yourself. It could be days before we find our way out of this maze."

Percy shook his head and his soft black strands tickled Annabeth's fingers.

"Can you heal me? Maybe then we can cover more ground."

"Not until I can figure out what the man did to you."

Annabeth slumped.

"I wish I could've said something to that genie who attacked us," Percy murmured. "He went on and on about my family and I just can't remember them in the way I want to."

"Do you think the answer to getting out of your chains is something you already know? Maybe the whole dilemma with erasing your memories is because they don't want you to remember how."

She didn't add the next part: Annabeth was starting to suspect the _they _didn't refer to the authorities assigning seventeen year olds with their genie lamps. The man back there wanted her dead but he also wanted to get into Percy's head. Honestly, though, Annabeth couldn't care less to understand what was happening. She got zero answers following Luke and a million more questions. Get Percy out of the lamp, okay. But anything after that had nothing to do with her.

This time, Annabeth wasn't going to pry. This wasn't her world; it wasn't her mess. It took too long for her to learn that.

Annabeth raised her arm and took a deep breath before letting the lighter fall from her fingers and onto the pool of ethanol a few meters away from her.

Percy grabbed her, pulling her backwards when her own legs failed her, as the flames erupted around them. Annabeth watched the fire travel down the trail of ethanol she left. The ceiling caved in after only minutes of dodging flames and relief flooded through Annabeth. She could see the sky.

**aoaoaoaoaoaoao**

Helen's cries reached Annabeth before Helen even came into Annabeth's field of vision. Annabeth was sitting on the curb of the street, watching the museum fire rage on while the firefighters who answered the call of a local fire marched into the burning building. It was the same old woman who saw Annabeth through the fenced gate who called the fire department. They found Annabeth on the ground, hugging her genie lamp, unable to stand and covered in grime, dirt, and dashes of blood.

She was lucky they didn't suspect her of the fire: Percy had helped her far enough from the ethanol to be seen as a victim rather than the perpetrator.

None of the genies appeared after the fire and aside from Annabeth, the museum was declared empty. Now Annabeth saw the flames dousing out slowly. A few policemen lingered around her while the firefighters went in and out of the building.

"Annie!"

Annabeth turned towards the voice and instantly collided with her brothers. Helen and her dad were right behind Mathew and Bobby, looking like they walked through a tornado. Helen stroked Annabeth's cheek, fat tears rolling down her face.

"We were so worried," Annabeth's dad said, crouching to come eye to eye with Annabeth. "Annie… we got a call from the fire department saying you were found in the museum. What were you doing there?"

"Research," Annabeth said automatically. "For school. I'm doing a report on Romanesque architecture… I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking when I went in."

Helen let out a wail and leaned forward to smack a kiss on Annabeth's forehead. Annabeth buried her face in her stepmother's shoulder as a firefighter approached them.

The firefighter gave Annabeth a small smile and draped a blanket over Annabeth's shoulders. "You feeling better? Need some water?"

"Yes, please."

"The ambulance is on its way and we're just going to get you checked out, okay? We'll figure out why you can't walk and they'll probably keep you overnight. The police will visit you in the hospital to get an update of the statement you gave them a few minutes ago."

Annabeth glanced at her legs. They were numb but her ability to walk was deteriorating by the second. Her grip tightened around Percy's lamp. Her backpack was probably charred now; the firefighters had found no trace of it so far. Her jacket was gone too. Annabeth probably took it off in the run from the fire; everything that happened then was a blur it went so fast.

"Annie," Helen said, stroking Annabeth's knee. Her voice quivered. "You can't walk?"

Annabeth shook her head. Her vision blurred and tears escaped her closed eyes. She went back into Helen's embrace, eyes barely open to see a blurry view of her father running his hand through Annabeth's hair. There was no way she could live her life without her legs. Her one mistake cost Annabeth her entire life.

That is, if Percy can figure out how to get her legs back.

Her eyes narrowed.

At the end of the day, it was Percy's memory that he needed. His memories probably had all the answers. How, she mulled it over, did one get back lost memories?

* * *

**I really hope you guys like this chapter! It took me forever to write and I'm still a little nervous about it haha.**

**Also, Percy meets someone new in the next chapter... can y'all guess who it is?**

**As always, thank you so much for all the favs, reviews, and follows :) They make me go happy crazy.**

**Next update on Friday/Saturday!**

**~Ami**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO characters**

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Chapter Eight

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Exhaustion weighed Annabeth down all the way from the museum fire to the hospital. The doctors did their endless tests, half of them she slept through, before she ended up in an overnight private room for which her father had somehow gotten the money to pay for. Annabeth didn't ask from where but she knew he had been slowly collecting their family savings since Athena was already paying for so many other amenities.

At some point along the way, Annabeth was left alone. It was nearing nine in the night when the nurse left her room with a promise of test results in the next morning.

Annabeth picked up Percy's blue genie lamp from the bedside table. She wiggled her legs to adjust the light blanket draped over her, and rubbed the side of the blue lamp.

Percy appeared in a flash of sparkles again. His hair was wet, shining in the bright lighting of the room, and his body scrubbed free of the dirt in the genie trap. He was biting his lip when he came out. Percy folded his legs and floated in midair where they could make eye contact.

"Why don't you stand?"

Percy shrugged. "I like floating, sweetheart. Is that a problem?"

"It's weird to talk to someone who is floating." Annabeth patted her legs. "I… still can't walk."

Percy's expression went sombre and the atmosphere in the room dropped. "Have the human doctors not figured out what's wrong?"

"They did some tests but the results aren't back yet. Weird thing is, I can move my legs and feel it if something is itchy. But when I try to stand up straight, I crumble."

Percy tilted his head. He leaned forward and put one hand awkwardly on her left knee. Annabeth lay still as he closed his eyes, wondering if he was doing his genie magic to figure out what was wrong. A second later, he opened his eyes. "I'm sorry, I never took biology at school and therefore never learned how to bend magic to heal anything past the basic cuts and bruises."

"Oh." She swallowed. "Are we going to talk about what happened?"

Percy shrugged. "You walked into a trap because of Luke. He didn't turn up but some other genie who I'm supposed know turned up. The other genie taunted me. Said other genie tried to kill you. We escaped. Done."

"Your memories, Percy. I don't care about Luke anymore. I don't even care that Luke isn't the only genie walking around. Don't you want to get out of your lamp? If we can figure out how these genies got out via your memories, we can get you out."

A ball in Percy's throat bobbed. "And how do you suppose I get my memories back, Annabeth? I know the gist of how things felt back then. I remember some really important people in my life but I'm never going to remember anything more than that."

"Then why are we even trying to get you out of your lamp? I could've died in there, Percy, but I still went because I wanted to set you free."

"Well I wasn't the one telling you to go into the trap. I'm telling you that chasing my memories is a dead end. Why can't you just leave it at that?"

A knock on the door made Annabeth jump, startled. She sent Percy a glare and he disappeared into his lamp. The door swung open to the same nurse who had been tending to Annabeth all day. Helen pushed her way from behind the nurse.

"How're you feeling, Annabeth?" Helen asked her. The nurse walked around the hospital bed to tap on some monitors Annabeth was hooked onto.

"Fine," Annabeth said. "I can go to school tomorrow kind of fine. There's nothing wrong."

"You had minor burns here and there," the nurse said. "I strongly disagree that you are okay to go to school tomorrow. If you're insistent, we can put you in a wheelchair tomorrow but it's better if you stay here."

Annabeth wrinkled her nose. She imaged her wheelchair bouncing down the stairs in the halls and everyone watching as she tumbled flight after flight. Then there was Leo who wouldn't let the opportunity to push her down a ramp and jump on for the ride slide to the side. "I'm okay here."

The nurse smiled. "You're upbeat. Most victims of a fire that come in aren't in the mood."

"Oh, I'm still terrified. But I'm relieved as well. I thought something terrible was going to happen and I didn't think I'd make it out."

"It was a beautiful miracle indeed." The nurse left the room to leave Helen and Annabeth alone.

Helen gave Annabeth a stern look. "I was rattled before but now that we're both feeling better, I want a proper explanation. What happened and why were you there? You were supposed to be home."

Annabeth wrapped her arms around her torso and launched into her well-thought out bluff about a report on Romanesque architecture: the kind of design the old museum was based on. As she spoke, Helen dug out something golden from her bag and set it on a nearby stool. It was her genie lamp that looked like a water jug. Annabeth raised her eyebrows. Helen barely ever brought it out of the house.

"I thought I'd bring my genie for support," Helen admitted at Annabeth's expression. "You gave us a real scare, Annabeth. When the fire department called, we thought you were burnt to crisp."

"Oh."

"Go to sleep, Annabeth," Helen sighed. "It's been a long day today and we need energy for your test results coming tomorrow morning."

**aoaoaoaoaoaoao**

The test results were completely normal. The doctors were left scratching their heads in confusion because if everything in Annabeth's body was fine, why couldn't she still walk? They recommended physical therapy and tried to wrestle her into a wheelchair but Annabeth refused to sit on one. Eventually, they offered her a pair of crutches and out the door Annabeth went, hobbling on her legs that felt like twigs.

"Please," Helen said once they had settled in the car after Annabeth's discharge the next afternoon. She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Please take the wheelchair."

"No."

"Annabeth."

"Helen."

Helen gave up. She started the car and they went cruising down the road. Annabeth borrowed Helen's phone to ring up Leo who answered the call enthusiastically. She grinned to herself hearing Leo chastise her. Despite the situation they were in, Annabeth was more than grateful to have the family and best friend that she did. Even Percy had tried his best to help her.

"You coming to school tomorrow?" Leo asked Annabeth as the car pulled onto her familiar driveway. "Rachel is still around but the teachers have taken complete control over her so you won't have to worry about that redhead anymore."

"Yeah. I can't imagine missing another day of school."

"Dammit. Nerd-a-beth is back."

"Nerd-a-beth?"

"Yeah. Annie's new nickname."

"I doubt getting a forty on a biology test makes me a nerd."

"I completely forgot about that. Ha. What a not-nerd."

"You're hopeless, Leo." Annabeth put the phone down after exchanging the usual farewells with him. She slipped Helen's phone onto the backseat and slung her arms over her crutches. Helen had to come all the way around the car to the passenger side in order to help Annabeth out. Frederick came out of the front door, arms open to grab Annabeth and Helen's things.

"You're going to go crazy with those crutches," Frederick pointed out.

Annabeth sighed, wiggling to adjust her armpits on the rubber. "I know."

Helen carried in Percy's genie lamp all the way up to Annabeth's room. Annabeth herself collapsed on her bed the second she entered, curling up into the soft blankets.

She hadn't had a chance to lay and think without any distractions anywhere. She was curious about what happened in the trap despite her promise to stay out of whatever genie mess the world had. Annabeth was going to stay out of it for sure but that didn't mean she wouldn't keep her eye out for something else interesting. Luke was a genie. That terrifying man who took away her legs was a genie. Percy kept warning her that she shouldn't underestimate genie magic. What exactly is a genie capable of then? To destroy the world?

Why hadn't the free genies done that yet then?

**aoaoaoaoaoaoao**

Three weeks.

Three weeks since she lost the function of her legs, two and a half weeks since she started going back to school. Piper and Leo were the ones helping Annabeth around the building the most. Leo would carry her up several flights of stairs while Piper held Annabeth's bag. Annabeth's legs were getting better; that was an upside. Percy had long given up trying to figure out how to help Annabeth but even he thought that she'd be fully recovered within the next couple months.

"Slow process," Percy had said. "But hey, it'll get there eventually. Now about those Hershey's kisses… they taste better if I'm stealing them from you rather than snapping my fingers to make them appear so please do buy some more for me to take."

"Wow. Real helpful, Percy."

Annabeth and Percy hadn't talked about getting Percy out of the lamp since the museum incident. Somehow, Percy was blaming himself for what happened there even though Annabeth knew it was her fault completely. It didn't help that Luke hadn't shown up for school since the day she saw him walk into the museum.

Now as Piper helped Annabeth hobble up the stairs to their biology lesson on a random Wednesday morning, Annabeth wondered whether Piper had her own genie lamp on her somewhere. While she was aware Piper's genie was named _Nico_, Annabeth had no clue what Nico's lamp looked like because of how secretive Piper was about it.

"Annabeth," Piper yelped.

Annabeth stumbled backwards. The only thing keeping her from falling was the railing her arm was wrapped around. She straightened up and glared at the remaining stairs. "I hate this."

Piper's expression softened. "I know, Annie. I'm sorry. You'll get your legs back but for now, we're going to be late if we don't hurry. And let's be honest: neither of us can risk pissing the teacher off with our already suffering biology grades."

Annabeth never told Piper about her wish to change her biology grades. Piper hadn't made a single wish. Annabeth, on the other hand, had already wasted two wishes on dumb things that could have easily been avoided.

Piper wrapped an arm around Annabeth's waist and hoisted her up the last few remaining steps. They were both breathing hard by the time they hit the landing. Annabeth took her backpack from Piper and gave her a small hug in gratitude.

"Hey, have you thought about the Christmas Ball at all?"

Annabeth shrugged. "I'm going with Leo. We both made a pact that if we ended up single for it, then we'd go with each other."

"That's so sweet. All my friends have got dates but I'm still not sure who I'm going with."

"If you want, I can ask Leo if you can come with us. We're going dress shopping next week and since it's just as friends, I'm sure you can join. We'll be three peas in a pod."

Piper smiled. "That's really kind of you, Annie. I don't want to intrude into your time, though. I know Leo is really looking forward to your movie night. He's quite protective about your friendship."

"Leo won't mind for you to join. He really looks up to you."

They entered the biology class and to their relief, the teacher wasn't there yet. Annabeth waved to her friends scattered around the area and sat herself down next to Piper. Rachel was sitting behind them where Silena was helping her fold some pieces of paper into shapes. Silena was good with Rachel, Annabeth noted. While Annabeth had been impatient and somewhat ignorant towards Rachel, Silena was giving her full attention to the redhead.

Annabeth let her backpack drop to floor as she scanned the room. She saw Frank Zhang sitting with his back completely straight and instantly a wave of bitterness washed over her. She tried so hard to beat Frank but somehow, she always failed. Frank was stroking his genie lamp in front of him, absentmindedly staring out into the distance. He never brought his lamp to school but then again, Annabeth heard Frank was moving houses so maybe he brought the lamp to school to keep it safe.

"Hey," Katie leaned over to Piper. "I'm getting my genie today at three."

Annabeth didn't really know Katie well but listened in on her conversation with Piper anyway.

Just as Piper had reacted when Annabeth was getting her genie, she squealed and hugged Katie. "Oh, that's so exciting! Trust me, your genie is going to be your best friend. Literally. I was a little miffed when I met my genie 'cause he was all dark and looked like a kid but he turned out to be great."

"Same here," Annabeth piped up. "I hated my genie with a passion when he first came around. I thought he was the typical asshole you find at school. He turned out to be kinda cool and now he's my second best friend."

"Who's your first? Me?"

"Uh… you're tied with Leo, Pipes."

"I better be."

Katie sighed. "Apparently this girl, Crystal, in our school used up all her wishes on the first day and then ended up getting robbed the next day. I don't want to make the same mistake of making all my wishes too early."

Oh. Leo had told Annabeth that story a while ago.

"I wonder what my genie's name is," Katie went on. "I've always imagined their name to be something like Callum."

Piper snorted. "My genie is named Nico Di Angelo. He looks Italian with olive skin but obviously he's actually from genie land. Or wherever genies are from."

"Is he happy in his lamp?" The words spilled out of Annabeth's mouth before she could stop them and she cursed herself seeing both Piper and Katie's confused expressions.

"Why wouldn't he be happy? It's every genie's dream to grant you wishes. You know, I did accidentally ask him a question once and he looked at me all funny for the next hour but otherwise, there shouldn't be any reason that he isn't happy in his lamp."

"It was a dumb thing to say, sorry."

Katie asked, "What's your genie's name, Annabeth?"

"Percy Jackson."

"Sounds British?"

Annabeth chuckled. "Clearly he isn't British."

"Percy Jackson," Katie tried the name on her tongue. "I kind of like that. What does he look like?"

"Black hair that always looks like a mess. He's got these sea-green eyes too that I've never seen on anyone. He likes floating instead of walking and has a thing about stealing Hershey's kisses."

Frank Zhang cried out and the entire class swung around to look at him. He lunged over his desk and his foot went flying behind him, slamming into Annabeth's desk with a clang. "My genie lamp!" Frank's lamp was zooming down the line of table and sent several people running as it passed. The lamp launched itself off the tables and did an astounding flip in the air before landing in front of Piper. She screeched, kicking her chair back and stumbling backwards. The lamp went spinning and jumping in place like a chicken clucking its head.

Annabeth's heart stopped. "My genie," she found herself saying, "is named Percy Jackson."

Frank's genie lamp started sliding down Piper's table and towards Annabeth's voice.

"He's blue when he glows in the dark."

The lamp shuddered in excitement.

"Percy has a mom. A little sister who he misses a lot but can't seem to remember."

Before the lamp could react, Frank grabbed it. Annabeth's shoulders slumped and she watched in amazement as Frank hugged his lamp to keep it from escaping his arms.

"I don't know what that was," Frank stuttered at the stunned classroom. The lamp in his arms jiggled. "I'm sorry."

The door swung open and their petite biology teacher swiftly made her way across the room. She adjusted her glasses, quirking her eyebrow at how many students were out of their seats and still staring at the path Frank's genie lamp took around the room. "Sit down."

"Excuse me," Frank said. "Can I leave my genie lamp in my locker? My genie is a little overexcited."

The biology teacher waved Frank away and he skittered away in a hurry. He was talking shrilly to his genie the second he stepped into the hallway. "Just shut up already," Frank was saying, "and please spare me whatever social life I have."

Annabeth would've laughed if Frank's next few lines hadn't been condescending. He treated his genie like trash. If Annabeth talked to Percy like that, he'd probably use his magic to drive her crazy day in day out. In fact, he wouldn't have saved her from the genie trap. Annabeth wouldn't have learned genies were chained. She wouldn't know who Blackjack nor would they bicker every minute they're together. She secretly loved their dumb arguments.

"What was that?" Piper murmured as their teacher started the lesson. "Creepy."

Annabeth stood up straighter. She knew exactly what it was. Percy reacted the same way when he heard Luke's voice. Now Frank's genie was going crazy at hearing Percy's name.

Whoever Frank's genie was knew Percy. Annabeth wasn't going to let this opportunity go to figure out who Frank's genie was - after all, if she's already broken the rules with Percy, what's stopping her from breaking the rules with other genies?

**aoaoaoaoaoaoaoao**

"Okay, where's Frank Zhang now?"

Leo flipped his watch and adjusted his sunglasses before replying in a robotic voice. "Basketball practice, Agent Chase."

"Copy that, Agent Valdez," Annabeth declared. "Now pick me up and take me to his locker because my legs don't work."

Leo grabbed Annabeth bridal style and she squeaked in surprise as he spun around with her in his arms. She threw her arms around his neck as he went on in an automated voice as if he was some secret agent. Annabeth laughed in the background, trying and failing to muffle her snorts. Thankfully the hallways were deserted.

"Zhang's locker." Leo's support from underneath Annabeth's legs fell and she straightened, leaning heavily on him. Leo kept one arm around her waist for which she was more than grateful for. They ditched her crutches a while back and now Leo was all keeping her upright. He peered down at her curiously. "Are you sure about this?"

Annabeth nodded. Earlier today she saw Frank's lamp go crazy at Percy's name so it only made sense for her to look into why. It took a while to convince Leo to help her but eventually he hesitantly agreed. Leo had completely given up on subduing her curiosity with genies. So here they were, hiding their identities from security cameras with sunglasses and oversized hoodies, stealing Frank Zhang's genie lamp.

"I'm not sure about this," Leo muttered. "Annie, you're putting a lot on the line. This is going against more than just one rule in the book. You can't ask your genies questions. You can't see a genie that isn't yours. When are you going to stop? I know you're curious but if you get caught, we don't know how cruel the punishments are."

"It's the perfect day," Annabeth argued. "I heard Zhang was off on the basketball trip for a whole week from today. He'll probably think he left the lamp in his locker and by the time he gets back, I'll return it."

Annabeth slipped the two bobby pins she brought into Frank's lock. She worked quickly and the locker opened in seconds. Frank's genie lamp was sitting directly in front.

Leo whistled. "It's blue. Just like your lamp."

"Mine is a darker blue though. This one is quite a light blue." Annabeth took the lamp and quickly hid it underneath her hoodie. They weren't doing this right. They could be easily caught if someone took a closer look at the security camera. Leo slung his arm around her again. He lifted her off the ground slightly to make an impression that she walking on her own but it must have looked wonky.

"They'll know it's us, Annabeth," Leo muttered. "There's no one else in this school that can't walk."

"Yeah, so we rushed into it," Annabeth admitted. "But as I said, Frank won't even know his genie lamp is gone until much later. And it'll be back before then. As long as he doesn't complain, there's no reason to check security footage."

"I hope you're right."

They crossed the garden to where Annabeth's crutches and their backpacks lay on the ground. Annabeth transferred the genie lamp into her bag. Leo grabbed it for her as she balanced on her crutches again. Leo's car was waiting for them in the parking lot and before long, Annabeth was standing by her front door and waving goodbye to her best friend.

She entered her home and with Helen's help, made her way up to her room.

Then finally, _finally, _she was left alone. Annabeth locked the door and perched on her bed, taking out Frank's genie lamp from her bag. Honestly, she thought Frank's lamp was ugly blue compared to her lamp.

She rubbed Percy's lamp first and he came out in dramatic smoke.

"How was that entrance," Percy asked her lazily. "I'm getting bored of the usual sparkles."

Annabeth crossed her arms over her chest. "Terrible." She couldn't keep a smile off her face.

"And you're happy beacuse you finally beat that Frank Brank kid in Calculus?"

"Nope."

"Athena died and you have all her money."

"I wish."

"You had a wet dream about me."

Annabeth did a spit take. "No, you arrogant prick. What the hell?"

Percy shrugged. "Thought I might try that one."

"Well, no. That will never happen."

"Yeah, but my sexiness can penetrate the most impenetrable people on this planet."

"Percy, shut up. I have a surprise for you." She lifted Frank's genie lamp in the air. "I think I found a genie who knows you from your life before getting stuck in the lamp."

Percy's mouth dropped open. "Who?"

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out together. Do you want to rub the lamp?"

Percy took the lamp from her hesitantly. His bowed head was close enough so some of his dark strands tickled her forehead. He met her eyes. His green eyes were wide and Annabeth saw traces of blue in them. She grabbed his hand and gave him an encouraging smile.

Slowly, Percy rubbed the side of the genie lamp in his hands.

* * *

**So ik I said the next update would be on Friday but I've been feeling really down lately and when I'm sad, I write. Sooo I finished the chapter early and here's an early update!**

**If you're new to this story, welcome! I always update on Fridays (although I do miss some Fridays once in a while) so check in then to see the next chapter**

**Happy life. hope it goes well.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own the PJO characters**

* * *

Chapter Nine

* * *

There were no sparkles or fog when the genie came out of Frank's lamp. One second it was just Percy and Annabeth on her bed and the next, a blond-haired, tall guy was standing in front of them. Percy's jaw dropped open and Frank's lamp fell from his fingers, rolling on the ground and stopping near the foreign genie's foot.

Annabeth studied the genie. Frank's genie had neat blonde hair with pale skin and a long face. There were dark circles underneath his blue eyes and despite his well-built figure, he was slouching and looked utterly exhausted. In the yellow lighting of her room, a small scar glittered on the genie's upper lip. His gaze darted around the room and Annabeth watched as his expression went from emotionless, surprised, confused, and disbelief.

For a moment, it was silent.

Percy gawked at the foreign genie. The foreign genie gawked at Percy.

Then, the genie doubled backwards as if someone had punched his stomach. "This is not happening."

"Mason!"

"_Jason_," the genie scowled.

Percy went red. "Let me off the hook, okay? I can't even remember my mom's name…" His voice went high-pitched and he trailed off. Something dawned on Percy's face and the ball in his throat bobbed.

"Hell. Percy?" Jason croaked. His eyes glistened and he swiped at them hurriedly to hide the unshed tears. "There's no way. No way you're here."

Percy launched himself off the bed, throwing his arms around Jason. Annabeth bowed her head when she saw both genies crying. Jason was repeating a mantra under his breath, telling himself nothing was real but Annabeth saw him take fistfuls of Percy's shirt and heard him choking. It looked like Percy was hugging his little brother the way he protectively patted Jason's back and hid his own tears in his shoulder. Her heart broke. She couldn't imagine not remembering Helen or her dad's names. If she ever forgot Leo, Annabeth would be a blind mouse stumbling around on all fours.

Seeing them reunited and so happy made up for all the paranoia Annabeth had about getting caught. She'd steal Frank's lamp over and over again just to see Percy and Jason smiling like they were.

"How?" Jason said. "This isn't happening."

"It's me. I promise."

"I'm dreaming."

"No," Annabeth says, amused. "You're Frank's genie, right?"

Jason looked up at her as if only just noticing she was there. "You're human."

"I am. My name is Annabeth."

"I've never seen another human in my life. Not at least one I remember." Jason's eyes widened and he backed away, arms raised protectively. He cowered and crouched into a corner. "You're not supposed to see me. Oh gods, if Frank found out."

"Hey," Percy said suddenly. He grabbed the back of Jason's shirt and hauled him to his feet. "Deep breaths. Don't freak out on me."

Annabeth shook her head. "Frank won't know. He's gone for the whole week so you're free to stay here for that time if you want to. As long as no one knows I have two genie lamps, of course. I'll return your lamp before he gets back. He'll never know you're gone."

"Frank follows the rule book religiously. Oh _gods, _how many rules have you broken, Percy? They'll kill you."

"Who's going to kill me?"

"I don't know, they just will! There are consequences to breaking rules. Frank has always told me they'll come for me if I don't listen to him."

Percy's expression twisted and Annabeth caught an underlying frustration in his features. Yes, Frank threatening Jason was unacceptable but what Percy didn't know was that after the honeymoon period of getting your genie, it was custom to talk down to your genie. In fact, Annabeth often wondered how she wound up calling Percy her friend seeing how she should've probably hated him more than anyone else hated their genie. His first impression on her was terrible.

"Jason," Annabeth cut in. "Calm down. It's okay." She met his eyes across the room where Percy was the only thing keeping Jason from falling. Annabeth wondered if this was the state most genies were in: anxious, panicking, and terrified. Jason's chains around his wrists were smoky trails, just like Percy willed his own to look like, but Jason's control over them were faltering and Annabeth could distantly see the chains and smoky trails flickering as if they were fighting to stay visible.

"Yes. I stole your lamp but you don't have to worry about Frank. Take it from me. We're not getting caught. I'll make sure of it."

Jason's lip trembled. He whispered, "No way."

"You can trust her," Percy supplied off-handedly. "We're trying to figure out how to me out of the lamp. We can help you too."

"Get out of the lamp? That's impossible," Jason frowned. He paused. "Wait, wait, Annabeth, it was your voice I heard saying Percy's name back when we were at school! You saw me struggling to get to you! I never thought that would work but when you started talking about Percy, the name struck me and I went crazy."

"It worked. It happened a couple of hours ago. Do you remember anything from your past?"

Jason strained. "My memories of the past are gone. But strangely, bits and pieces of some things are coming back to me now. Few reminders of what life was like. A couple names I had forgotten before." He paused. "Damn it, I still believe any of this. How many rules have you two broken?"

"More than one," Percy replied. "but forget that. Dude, we haven't seen each other in three years. How… how have you been doing?"

Annabeth backed away and left the boys alone to catch up on their own. She plugged in her headphones and took out her calculus homework to finish but her legs, as usual, refused to take her to her desk. Instead, she curled up against her bed's headboard and used a nearby encyclopaedia as something hard to write on. She chewed at the end of pencil, glancing at Jason and Percy every few minutes. They sat on the ground, cross-legged, making wild gestures with their hands and going from happy to sad to happy in the same second. Of course: They had a lot to catch up on.

Annabeth's phone binged from her backpack on the ground and Percy, bless his soul, unzipped her front pocket to toss the phone to her while Jason babbled on.

**Leo: **We seriously need to talk. Public holiday tomorrow. Meet then.

Annabeth agreed, texting a reply, before scrolling through the rest of the texts she got. Her heart dropped to her stomach.

**Athena**: Why is it that I find out you've been in a museum fire three weeks ago and can't walk now? Why are you so stubborn to screw your life up? I'm on my way back from my business trip and I expect answers on arrival. I had to cut the trip short to get back.

Athena never texted Annabeth. Annabeth's grip around the phone tightened and her eyes burned. So she failed a few tests at school once in a while. So she walked straight into a genie trap when Percy warned her to stay away from Luke. So she couldn't beat Frank at a single calculus test. Did that make her failure? Did that make her dumb?

Yes.

Anyone who said Annabeth had potential was a failure themselves in life. Athena was right. There was something wrong with Annabeth, something screwed up in her brain that kept her from making the right choices. Who, even after hours of studying, got a forty percent on their test? Idiots, that is.

She rubbed at her eyes and dried the tears with the hem of her shirt. She promised herself she'd never cry over Athena again. Annabeth hadn't even known Athena was on a business trip. Mascara rubbed off on her fingers, and Annabeth moved to take the make up off at the bathroom. She remembered her legs too late and fell on the floor with a loud squeak.

"Angel?"

"I'm fine," Annabeth said. She used her arms to sit up, her legs sprawled in front of her. "Just fell."

Percy stood up and took her arm gently, hoisting her up until her legs were wrapped securely around his waist. Jason peered at them from the ground and Annabeth went red in embarrassment. It was the worst first impression on anyone knowing she needed help just going to the bathroom.

Percy spun around and kicked the bathroom door open. He pushed her onto the counter next to the sink as the door closed behind him with a click. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just needed to wash my face."

"Angel. I can see you're upset."

Percy had trapped her on either side. He was deathly close to her so much so that she could hear his heart beating. "Athena found out that I walked into the museum voluntarily and now she's cut her business trip short to come scream at me. Yay. I still don't know why she scares me so much."

Percy's eyes went dark. "You know not to listen to her. You're nothing like what she says you are."

"I know."

"You're a miracle worker."

"Percy. Jason is waiting for you outside."

"I'm not leaving," he said fiercely. He lifted one hand to brush a stray curl from in front of her face. "You need to know what you've done for me and how fucking amazing you are. Forget Athena."

"Percy."

"I remember my mom now, angel," Percy cut in. Annabeth froze seeing his eyes glistening. "I guess seeing someone familiar from my past surfaced other memories too. My mom's name is Sally. She's got these beautiful brown eyes and always makes blue food. She's so independent and powerful and loving that I swear if I see her again, I'll just break down right there. I have a best friend named Grover who sounds like a goat when he bleats. He was stuffed into a lamp before I was and now I have no idea where the hell he is. My dad died when I was a baby but he used to snap his fingers and make hearts chase me around to teach me to walk. Then, he's tickle me until I couldn't breath. I wouldn't have remembered any of them if it weren't for you, angel."

"When."

"What?"

Annabeth smiled softly. "When you see your mom again. Not if. I made a promise to get you out that I plan to go through with to the end. I'm glad seeing Jason helped you remember, though."

Percy squeezed her arm. "No, thank _you_. Frank treats Jason like absolute trash but you treat me like your equal. I don't know if I can ever pay you back."

"No need." Annabeth gave Percy a light push. "Now get out there and let me be."

Percy stuck his tongue out at her and within seconds, she was alone again. Annabeth went through the motions robotically, rubbing her face free of the little make up she wore to school. It was Athena who originally got Annabeth into it because "no woman should leave the house looking like you do." Annabeth was leaving her face bare more and more often nowadays, especially since there was no way for Athena to know whether Annabeth was following her rules.

She lunged over the sink to grab the towel and dabbed her face dry before slumping. Annabeth considered pushing herself off the counter and crawling back to bed but how long would that be?

"Percy!" She yelled out. "I need a ride!"

It was silence for a second before the door opened to Jason.

"Where's Percy?"

"In his lamp," Jason said. "Something about his dog barfing all over his carpet."

"Oh."

"I can help you?"

Annabeth sighed. "Yeah, that'll be great."

She awkwardly swung one arm over Jason's neck to keep herself aloft. Leaning on Jason heavily, Annabeth moved one foot in front the other and shakily dropped onto her bed at the end.

"I have a question," Jason hesitated. "I'm sorry if this comes out as intrusive but it doesn't seem like you're used to not being to walk. So it must be a pretty recent thing, right? Why can't you walk?"

"In a nutshell, I walked into a genie trap and some genie touched me and suddenly I couldn't walk. So yes, I could walk before and this is a recent happening. I'm getting better though and the doctors think that in a couple more weeks, I should be able to walk around on my own."

"Genie trap? How…?"

Annabeth tilted her head. "Percy didn't tell you? We've found two genies who are out here in our world rather than in their lamps."

"No. He's been going on about his dog for the last ten minutes and telling me how fluffy it is."

Annabeth cracked a smile. "That's Percy." She launched into the whole story with Luke and other genie at the trap. Jason's expression barely changed throughout her exchange but by the end of her explanation, he looked stoned.

He pointed at her folded legs. "May I?"

"Um… okay?"

Jason closed his eyes and put on hand on her knee. Annabeth shifted, trying her best not to look she was uncomfortable. Finally, Jason retracted his arm. He spent a good few minutes staring her down before Annabeth asked him what he was doing.

"You're cursed," Jason said abruptly. "My healing magic is strong and I've been training to be a healer since I was a child. An old genie language is physically carved into the bones of your legs. But some holes are starting to fill up which means the genie trying to curse you was interrupted halfway through the process. You should be fine in a couple weeks, the doctor is right. It'd be hard for Percy to heal you since he's not good with healer magic but at least you'll get better without making a wish."

"Cursed?"

"It sounds bad but don't worry, like I said, the curse was never finished."

"And if it was?"

Jason pursed his lips. "You'd be deteriorating like a mummy. Your bones would shrink. Your muscles will get floppy. And you'll die. Painfully. Genie curses can be quite powerful."

Percy appeared behind them from his lamp on the ground. "Wait, did I just hear that right?"

"You should know something," Jason said. "It might help to make sense of the genie trap. Frank likes to threaten me quite a lot with what could happen to me if I don't follow the rules or do something he wants me to do. In that process, he's spilled quite a lot of information about genies and humans. His dad, some guy named Ares, works with the team that chains genies up and distributes them to seventeen-year-olds on their Coming. His colleague, Aphrodite, comes over a lot to and I've overheard some conversations."

Percy glanced at Annabeth. "Doesn't that name sound familiar? Aphrodite?"

"Yeah. She was the woman who gave me your lamp on the day of my Coming. Aphrodite is really sweet. I can't imagine her being one of those people kidnapping genies from their homeland and chaining them."

"Because she's not. Ares and Aphrodite always acted… _afraid _of whoever is ordering them to chain and distribute genies."

"What? That makes no sense."

Jason shrugged. "It didn't to me for a long time either. Let me explain. Frank has always used humans to threaten me. He'd go on and on about how if I didn't grant him some wish, he'd tell the spies that I'm acting out. After a while of this, as well as Ares and Aphrodite's conversations, I finally started connecting the dots on what he meant." He sat back, crossing his arms with lips in a thin line.

"So?"

"So what?"

"What did you connect?" Percy rolled his eyes. "We don't know what conversations you overheard."

Jason blinked. "Well… nothing significant yet. I know some humans, like Ares and Aphrodite, are following orders and they're terrified of whoever is giving the orders. The same agency that's distributing the genie lamps has human spies of all ages lurking around as well. At first I thought it was to maintain the order but I guess they know that some genies are escaping their lamps and they want to watch out for those genies."

Annabeth exchanged a look with Percy. "Like what we're trying to do."

"We deal with spies later," Percy said. "I think the first issue is how do I even get out of this dumb lamp? Yeah, okay, maybe my memories can help but I barely have enough to go on. We could always go back to the genie in the trap, I guess but…" He glanced at Annabeth's legs and frowned.

"I mean, I'll keep looking for clues through Frank," Jason said. "But of course I don't know when we'll see each other next…"

"We have a week," Percy said. "Let's just forget about all this crazy and focus on trying to make up for the last three years."

"I do, however," Annabeth said. "have a question for you, Jason. How many wishes has Frank made?"

"Five. His first wish was to ace every test this year for calculus."

Percy burst out laughing and Annabeth scowled. Her entire desk was covered with workbooks with hours and hours of calculus practice just to find out the guy she was trying to beat was going to get a hundred regardless of what she did. But five wishes? Frank seemed desperate for something to have made so many wishes, or he hated Jason a lot and wanted to get rid of his genie as soon as possible.

The second Frank hit nine wishes, Jason would die. How would Percy react then?

Annabeth bit her lip, watching Percy shove Jason onto the ground. They were like a pair of overgrown, overexcited puppies. Annabeth was never going to make her ninth wish. Ever. She was going to spend her whole life with Percy by her side, hopefully with him outside his lamp and living among humans.

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**Not my best chapter, I'm sorry :( I know it was late too - I'm currently down with this horrid flu kind of thing (which doesn't even make sense because this isn't flu season?) - so I'm sorry about that too :(**

**I promise GROVER is coming soon, he's got HUGE role but it just comes a little while later. I hope you guys liked that chapter even though it was short and not so great and ugh. I'll do my best to make sure the next chapter makes up for this!**

**Review, Fav, and follow! See you next Friday (tho let's be honest, it'll be 1am Saturday morning)**

**~Ami**

**PS: Just wanted to reply to **PJ HP luver **who tried to guess what happens next. No, you weren't right! Luke isn't Rachel's genie. You'll just have to wait to see what happens :)**

**Also, **Guest, **I've been noticing ur reviews for a while now and thank u so much for all ur support! You always remind me when I don't update haha and I love you for that :))**

**I won't be making replying to guest reviews a chapter wise thing but I just thought I'd reply to those two specifically :) **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO characters**

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Chapter Ten

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Annabeth's crutches dug into her armpits with a jab when some old lady kicked one of them over to get past Annabeth. She winced, tilting dangerously to one side to steady herself on her crutches before making the excruciating journey from where Helen dropped her off to the coffee shop Leo was waiting for at.

She spotted Leo immediately. He looked like he just rolled out of bed with all his strands sticking from his head like the back of a porcupine. He waved to her from inside the coffee shop and dove through the door to jog to the curb where she stood waiting. Leo was holding two drinks in his hands and Annabeth's mouth watered seeing the hot chocolate she was craving just a few hours ago.

It was starting to get cold. It was nearing the end of November now and the air went from a warm breeze to a chilly wind that made Annabeth's hair blow. She had blonde curls down once again, Percy's earlier taunts were still stuck in her head, and they were blowing all over the place. She spit out her hair from her mouth and a ran hand down the back of her head to keep them in place.

"Let's go to the park," Leo said. "We can talk there."

It was a slow way to the park and eventually Annabeth collapsed by a thick trunked tree. She took her drink from Leo eagerly and blew it cool. "Thank you. I was about to text you to get it for me."

Leo gave her a wolfish grin. "You know me, babe. I can read your mind before you know what you're thinking."

"Call me that again and you won't have legs."

"Oh, like you don't?"

Annabeth narrowed her eyes and him and his smile faltered.

"So what was up yesterday?" Annabeth asked. She was relieved for some time with Leo before Athena shows up tonight as she told Annabeth she was. "You texted me acting all serious about something you wanted to talk to me. What was it?"

Leo glanced at his own drink. His fingers fiddled with a thick, black necklace-string he permanently wore around his neck. "You've got to promise to listen with an open mind."

"Oh yeah," Annabeth tilted her head. "Wait. Is that Rachel?"

Leo followed her line of vision and sure enough Rachel Dare stood near an ice cream vendor. Next to her, _Thalia Grace _was paying for two cones of ice cream. The two of them looked awfully comfortable with each other. The scene in the art room flashed behind Annabeth's eyes. Just a while ago, it seemed like Rachel was downright terrified of Thalia. And now what were they, best friends?

"Huh," Leo said. "I saw them a while ago at the coffee shop too. Thalia's smoking as always."

"Your chances with her are still zero."

"So are your chances with Luke because he's busy screwing my crush. Our luck is really crap when it comes to romance, let's admit it already."

They exchanged a wary look.

"Then again you have to wonder," Annabeth said, taking another sip of her drink. "Is she still screwing Luke if he hasn't shown up for school for the past month now? He's in my biology class and even the teacher has absolutely no clue where he's disappeared." She didn't mention she was probably the last person from school to have seen Luke. He walked into the museum and never came out.

"Well. Whatever it is, I never imagined Rachel and Thalia to be friends. I thought they hated each other."

"Not hated. Rachel was scared of her, remember?"

"I'd hate someone I was terrified of."

"Hey look at that kid. He just got his genie and he's all excited." Annabeth pointed in the distance where someone their age stood with their family. They're holding a velvet box and grinning down at it as if it's the most beautiful gem in the world. "Well, his life is all set now. Genies tend to do that. They just make everything okay with a snap of their friends."

"You're smiling."

"Yeah, my genie and I are good friends and I feel like my life has improved a hundred times since I met Percy. Can't I smile, Leo?"

Leo sighed and folded his legs to get comfortable. He leaned back on the tree.- "This is what I wanted to talk to you about. You're too obsessed with your genie, Annabeth. It's starting to show. I had a long time to think after you convinced me to help you _steal _Frank's lamp yesterday. I made a mistake. I should've stopped you instead of letting you go through with it."

Annabeth snapped her attention to him. He was downright serious. She crossed her arms over her chest. "You should know, Frank's genie is named Jason. Poor Jason is still trying to get over how terrible life is with Frank. Frank treats him like literal trash. In fact, while we're here, Percy and Jason are back at my home playing board games or something. They cried when they saw each other, you know that? Stealing Frank's genie lamp was one of the best decisions I ever made."

"You talked to Jason."

"Why else would I steal the lamp? To admire how it looks on my bedside table?"

Leo shook his head, dejected. "I was hoping you'd come to your senses. You've broken one of the more important rules in the book. Honestly, I don't even know how far you're going go. I did some research. I know you can't break the rules that restrict what your wishes are. The chains will physically limit your genie's magic. But there's nothing stopping you from breaking the other rules. God forbid, please don't actually fall in love with your genie. You'll break the only rule in the book that's been bolded, underlined, italicised, and capitalised with a giant "DO NOT."

"Percy's not romance material."

"I'm not kidding, Annie. Don't break that rule. You _can't _fall in love with Percy. There must be a reason that rule is regarded as the most important in the book."

Annabeth blew up. "What the hell is all this about? Did you call me over to tell me everything I'm doing is wrong? You weren't there when Jason and Percy reunited. You don't know how they reacted. They spent three years staring at walls in isolation, Leo. Have some mercy for genies. Who knows all your genie, Hazel, had to endure?"

"Annie."

"Why don't you ask Hazel yourself, huh? Or is she scared of you like Jason is scared of Frank?"

"Annabeth."

"I know what I'm doing."

"Are you going to tell me how you lost the function in your legs?"

Annabeth froze.

Leo pursed his lips, his eyebrows flying off. "I know you didn't fall in a ditch like you told me you did. Tell me the truth, Annabeth. What happened to your legs?"

She swallowed, hesitating. Annabeth played around with the cap of her drink before she said whispering, "Ran into a rogue, free genie when I followed Luke the day before he disappeared. The rogue genie cursed me. Percy saved me before the curse finished but I'd be dead if he hadn't."

Leo breathed out forcefully. "Did you read the news early this morning? I'm talking six or seven."

"No."

"There's a family on my street," Leo started. "A couple and their nineteen year old son who was home for the summer from university. Last night, the couple was murdered. Their son escaped. He claims it was genies who attacked them. He said the genies let him go on purpose. There were three according to him. They killed his parents without setting a finger on his parents. And here's the bomb: one of the genies the boy said was his own genie. The boy made his nine wishes and thought he'd never see his genie again. Who knew, that the genie would come back and murder his parents?"

A cold draft made its way up Annabeth's spine. "Leo, I don't know where you're getting this information from. I'll search it up tonight but… I've never heard of something like this happening. Ever."

"Don't bother searching it up. Either trust me or don't because the authorities took down the news articles around eight this morning. The only reason I know is because it happened on my street and along with all my neighbours, my dad went out to see who was screaming in the middle of the night. And that's why not many people know about it. Articles were barely on the internet for an hour before they were forced to be removed. Imagine how many other articles were removed."

Her mouth went dry. "I'm sorry… but I really can't imagine Percy doing that."

"You can't now. He's trapped in his lamp. If you really do value my opinion, Annabeth, I say leave Percy in his lamp."

Annabeth went quiet. What could she say? She just kept replaying Percy and Jason hugging each other as she stared at the murky chocolate her drink had become. It was too cold to enjoy now.

"Annabeth. Are you okay?"

"Fine, Leo. But you're scaring me."

He set his drink on the ground next to him. "Okay. How about this? We go dress shopping for the Christmas Ball. Get your mind off of things. You told me Athena is coming tonight so before she shows up, let's go have fun like the old times without any genie talk at all. Let's forget any of this happened."

"I thought you hate dress shopping."

"I do. But we've got pranks to play on the shopkeepers."

Annabeth cracked a smile but it was forced and even Leo could probably see that. "Just like old times."

**aoaoaoaoaoaoao**

"That's it," the shopkeeper snarled. She pushed Leo and Annabeth out of the store, rather rudely, and threw Annabeth's crutches on the ground afterwards.

Annabeth and Leo burst out in laughter again and Annabeth snatched the small remote Leo was holding. "This was hilarious. Let's go do it on another store."

"Can't," Leo said between laughs. "The batteries are dead." He held in his hand a small, fly-sized robot that could be controlled from the remote Annabeth held. Leo made it himself. They spent the last two hours flying it around shopkeepers and buzzing it right next to their ears while pretending to try on dresses and suits for the Christmas Ball. So far, they had driven two shopkeepers out of the store after dancing around to avoid the robot fly before the third one figured it was Annabeth and Leo behind it.

"I didn't even get my dress," Annabeth giggled. "And I actually liked that last one. Oh, well."

"Damn."

Annabeth looked up to see Leo staring at his phone screen. "What's wrong?"

"Dad wants me back at the store."

"Oh."

"Here," Leo said. He swooped down to grab Annabeth's crutches "I'll drop you off at home before we go."

"Hey, Leo."

"Yeah?"

"Is that Thalia with Rachel over there at the arcade?"

A few stores down from the dress store is an arcade spanning over half the floor. Somewhere near the entrance, Thalia and Rachel stood stoically, talking amongst each other in hushed whispers. Thalia was holding Rachel's hand, visibly squeezing it as if in reassurance.

"You know what? Let's go talk to them." Annabeth pulled Leo along with her and they made their way across the floor to reach Thalia and Rachel. "Hey! I didn't think I'd see you guys here!"

For the first time ever, Annabeth was able to see Thalia Grace properly without a screaming Rachel on the ground or her friends surrounding her. Annabeth was taken aback. Thalia was gorgeous in an intimidating sort of way with her kohl lined eyes and dark hair snipped up to her neck. She wore three spiked bracelets on one hand with a black hoodie and typical blue jeans. From what Annabeth heard around school, Thalia was near the top of the grade in terms of academics. It's no wonder Luke fell for her. God, did Annabeth really think she could compete with Thalia?

"I'm Thalia," she said roughly. She held out a hand and Annabeth shook it.

"Rachel," Rachel piped up.

Annabeth smiled. "I know, Rachel. We're in biology together, remember?"

"But you always sit with Piper."

Annabeth's smile fell. "What are you guys doing here anyway? How do you know each other?"

"From art class," Thalia said. "We paint together and thought it would be fun to come out for a day. I see you're here with Leo."

Leo was hiding behind Annabeth and hearing his name coming out of Thalia's mouth made him look like he was going to pass out. He squeaked, "Hi, Thalia. You have an amazing name."

Thalia wasn't impressed. "Anyway, Rachel and I are just about to leave. I hope you guys have a great rest of the day."

"Hey," Annabeth called out before they could leave. Leo stiffened against her back. "It's… Leo's Coming tomorrow. I'm having a party for him. If you guys want to come, it would be really fun."

Leo opened his mouth to protest but closed it a second later after seeing Annabeth's glare. He nodded weakly. "Yep. Getting my genie tomorrow."

Rachel's eyes went glassy. "My Coming was amazing. I think I died the next day, though. I don't remember. I remember a song though! _I followed the stars to a place I don't know_." Rachel went on singing, turning away from the group to wave at a little girl passing by.

"No," Thalia said. "Thank you for the invite, but with all due respect, neither Rachel nor I will attend. I hope your Coming goes well."

"Do you have a genie of your own?"

"Goodbye, Annabeth. Leo." Thalia grabbed Rachel's arm and pulled her away from Annabeth and Leo. From behind, Annabeth saw a glint sticking out of Rachel's tiny backpack. No one really brought around their genie lamps everywhere but Rachel was far too obsessed with hers. Annabeth remembered back when she touched Rachel's genie lamp when she was giving her a school tour. Rachel had gone livid.

"Don't tell me that wasn't suspicious," Annabeth told Leo. "Something is up with them. As Rachel's friend, I should figure out what."

"Something we're not going to involve ourselves in. Besides, how much of a friend do you consider Rachel as?" Leo reminded. "You still have to return Frank's lamp because I swear Annabeth if something goes wrong… if you get caught or if Percy decides to murder you like what happened with the family, you'll spend the rest of your life regretting the choices now. Your legs are barely improving. And okay, they'll be back to fine one day but are you really willing to lose something else permanently before you learn your lesson?"

Annabeth's phone binged. She checked it and her heart plummeted. Athena just landed at the airport and she was coming over for dinner. She had to get home — before anyone, especially her genie hating mother, realised she was harbouring not one but _two _genies in her room. "Take me home, Leo. I promise I'll stop."

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**I should really stop saying I'll update on Friday 'cause I end up doing it on Saturday anyway. This chapter was kind of short but I have something HUGE planned soon for Rachel and you guys, it's really gonna start picking up steam from here ;)**

**I hope you still enjoyed that! Leave a review :)**

**Also, random note, the pjo fandom is dYing, it's not just me who thinks that right?**

**UPDATE: I can't upload the next chapter for the next two weeks 'cause I'm really busy with dance recitals. I hope the wait is okay :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own the PJO characters**

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Chapter Eleven

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Annabeth got home half an hour later and immediately went up to her room to check on Jason and Percy. Helen helped her up the stairs, kissed her forehead at the top, and left to prepare for Athena's visit. It made Annabeth's heart drop to her stomach. It wasn't just Annabeth who was flustered every time Athena came over. Both Annabeth's dad and Helen were beyond embarrassed that they couldn't provide for the family on their own and went out of their way to seem worthy in front of Athena.

Annabeth knocked on her door, signalling Percy she was outside. She was lucky her family respected her privacy and didn't enter whenever she was outside. It wasn't customary for genies to be roaming free in the room while their owners weren't with them. Just in case, though, Annabeth had set up a manual alarm system so if anyone turned the doorknob to her room, a bell would ring and alert Percy inside to hide.

She entered the room.

Percy was lounging on her bed. Jason was no where in sight.

Annabeth dropped her crutches by her bed and collapsed into the sheets. She sat up, head supported by her elbows, as Percy watched her. He gave her a small, amused smile.

"How was it with Leo?"

Annabeth frowned. She couldn't tell Percy what Leo told her about the family on his street. "Nothing exciting happened. We just went for some drinks, sat in the park. The boring. On the other hand, Athena is coming tonight for dinner."

"Oh."

"I'm not sure what she wants me to say. What excuse do I give her? I can't walk and that's angered her more than I imagined it would."

Percy cocked his head to the side. His dark strands stuck to her white pillowcase. "What are you afraid of? She's going to come here. She'll scream. She'll slap you then she'll storm out. I can heal you and you can just let the words go from one ear to another."

"It's not that," Annabeth bit her lip. "She wants me to become what she is. I'm afraid that she'll put her foot down and do something drastic like sending me to boarding school. Then I truly won't have a life."

"Oh."

"I have a feeling that day is today."

"Not if you fight back, angel."

"Percy, it's not that easy. She's paying for Bobby and Matthew's education. Our entire house's expenses because dammit, we have so many past debts to pay off my dad can't earn enough for even just himself. Helen can't find a job. It's been too long since she graduated university. Matthew and Bobby are always going around the hospital with asthma or twisted ankles, what not. We need money for medical and someone to look after them. Helen doesn't have time to spare."

Percy fell back on her pillow. He stared at the ceiling. "I don't understand humans. One of the unwritten rules of being a genie is that you fight for what you want. It doesn't matter if it's your mom or not. You take them to ground in blood. Honor is huge among genies. If you lose it, sometimes it's better to die than stay alive."

"In blood?"

He winced. "Well, genies can end up being quite violent."

Annabeth froze. Leo's story flashed in her head. "Violent?"

"We have some traditions. Duelling, more specifically. I've never been in a duelling ring myself but I've watched some from the sidelines. I don't remember specifics but I remember a lot of blood. I think I threw up when I saw a duel for the first time."

Annabeth's breathing went ragged. She buried her face in the sheets and counted down to ten. She imagined Leo's neighbor letting their genie free of their lamp, however they did it, and waking up just to see the genie stabbing their parents. Percy would never do that. Would he?

"When we first met, I insulted you and your capabilities, remember? You told me you could raise buildings with nothing but your mind."

"Huh. Did I? It's true. Genies can do a lot but these Silverbane won't let me raise any buildings any time soon."

Annabeth glanced down at her hands. "And you can kill with your mind too. I'm positive."

Percy turned to look at her. His green eyes were dark in the brightly-lit room. Annabeth hadn't ever noticed how beautiful his eyes were. His eyes were the ocean, lashes dark and long enough to skim the skin underneath. She mentally shut down the thought. God, Annabeth was acting ridiculous.

"I could never hurt you, angel," Percy said finally. "I physically can't ever hurt you even if I wasn't bound by these chains."

"Okay." Annabeth wondered if Leo's neighbor heard the same line from his genie before the genie stormed in killed everyone else at the house. She asked, "How's it going with Jason? Is he sleeping?"

Percy deflated. "Yeah. He's different. Jason is always scared now. The bell on the door rung at some point when you were out. As usual, I dived into my lamp and he did too. It was your dad just grabbing something from your desk. Then when we came out of the lamps, Jason was having a panic attack and I had to calm him down."

"Is it better than yesterday when we first met him?"

Percy hesitated. "No. In some ways, it's worse. I did, though, get a lot of dirt on Frank."

"Good or bad?"

"He has a crush on some girl named Piper. Do you know her?"

Annabeth did a double take. "She's one of my closest friends."

Percy snorted. "Apparently Frank spent an hour trying to find a wish that wouldn't break the rules and get him closer to Piper. It didn't work. Instead, Jason's a little hung up on Piper now. The first girl he had even seen in pictures since he came out out of his lamp and became Frank's genie. Geez."

"Piper hates how arrogant Frank is with his grades. Especially with how he's at the top of the class in calculus. He never shuts up about it."

"Fake grades. He made wishes to get them, remember?"

Annabeth chuckled. "Right. Then again, I made the biology wish so I can't really talk, can I?"

Helen's voice echoed through the door and Annabeth curled into herself. Percy sent her a pitied gaze.

"I have to go," Annabeth said. "I bet Athena just texted Helen telling her she was a few minutes away."

Percy nodded. "I'll get back in my lamp then. Just don't freak out, okay? You won't believe what a small thing this is compared to what genies have to go through sometimes. At least your mom isn't trying to bash your skull on the ground to break it open."

Annabeth tilted her head. "Why haven't you said anything about these genie habits earlier? Might've been nice to have that warning before I followed Luke and lost my legs."

He blushed. "I think it's because I'm starting to trust you more, I can reveal more of the not-so-great side of genies. Besides, did I know you were going to walk straight into a genie lamp?"

Annabeth gave him a wary look. Percy disappeared into his lamp in a swirl of colors, and she draped herself over her crutches and moved to open the door. Ever since Leo warned her in the park, she had been on red alert and the signs were all there. Percy's expression when he told her not to underestimate his magic was murderous and now it was plastered in her head. Or the way he fought back in the other genie's lair. And now, hearing about how genies violently fought out their disagreements?

"Annabeth," Helen called out for her once she was at the bottom of the stairs. "Athena is just outside. She'll be here any second."

"Wonderful. Time to get my head chewed off."

Helen ignored Annabeth, scooping up the tons of legos on the ground from Matthew and Bobby playing earlier. As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Annabeth stiffened, seating herself on the dining table as Frederick came out of some random room to go open the door. Annabeth folded her legs and let her crutches fall to the ground.

Athena didn't look like she had just walked off a flight that same morning. She was wearing a pair of gorgeous gold earrings with her hair pulled back in a neat pony tail. Her dark jeans hugged her long legs and a grey blouse complimented her eyes. It was strange seeing Athena wear anything but black and white. She almost seemed motherly.

"Annabeth," Athena said firmly. "Frederick. Helen. Where are the boys?"

"The boys are out at a friend's place right now," Helen replied. "We have the place to ourselves for a relaxing dinner. Fredrick bought wine just a few hours ago when he heard you were coming over."

Athena pursed her lips. "How awfully kind of you, Helen, to have prepared such a meal. Thank you for the wine, Frederick."

They all pulled out chairs and sat around the dining table. Annabeth didn't move a muscle until Frederick had served her the potatoes and grilled chicken Helen had made for dinner that night. Only then did Annabeth inch forward to stab a potato.

It was coming any second. The look Athena was giving her was terrifyingly calm and it was the worst when Athena was calm. It was the eye of the tornado before all hell broke loose. Any second, Athena would slap her. Any second, there would be screaming. Any second, the tears Annabeth was holding back would come flowing down her cheeks. Any second —

"Annabeth, how're you feeling today?"

"Fine, Mom. I went out with Leo earlier so I'm a little worn out but fine otherwise."

"Your studies?"

"I scored a ninety-one for my History assignment."

Athena steeled her expression.

"For real," Annabeth hurriedly interjected. "I didn't make a wish this time. I learned my lesson the first time around."

"I hear you should be getting better soon," Athena said. "Frederick, the doctor said in about two weeks, the crutches will be gone?"

"Yes. It seems to the doctor that her muscles were temporarily paralysed out of shock," he gave Annabeth a reassuring glance. "Even after crutches, she'll be stumbling around here and there. Annabeth won't do what she did again. No more diving into old museums for architecture research."

"No. No more of that. I promise. I'm… sorry."

Athena waved a hand. "I was livid before, I'll admit. But after I got off the flight, I got an absolutely wonderful opportunity for you, Annabeth. Why don't we get straight to it? One of my partner businesses, Zeus Enterprises, is hosting a luncheon. His daughter is in your grade. Thalia Grace. He's invited me to join the luncheon and hopes that you and Thalia can become good friends."

Annabeth swallowed. "I know Thalia already."

"But not well enough. I want you to be there. There will be many important people there, not just Thalia. I've already checked the date with school events and nothing is clashing. You cannot argue with me."

It wasn't the worst preposition. Annabeth was okay going to this luncheon to keep Athena happy. At least it wasn't boarding school or something crooked like that.

"Another thing," Athena said. "I want you to move in with me."

Oh gods. Annabeth would've picked boarding school instead. She jumped onto a defensive stance immediately. "Mom, I can't do that. Matthew and Bobby are going to be absolutely devastated."

"I am your mother," Athena said, unfazed. She scooped more potatoes onto her plate. "I do what is best for your future whether or not you like it. Annabeth, starting January next year, you are moving into my penthouse. You will go to the same school. It's not like I'm tearing you away from your entire life here."

"It might be for the best," Helen said quietly.

Annabeth swung around to glare at Helen. "How is it for the best?"

"Matthew and Bobby are constant distractions," Helen said. "They're always loud with friends over. Your father and I, let's face it, can't afford a lot. With Athena, you might have a better standard of living. You'll have better focus to achieve your dreams."

"No!" Annabeth cried. "I'm not leaving. This is my home."

"Neither place is your home. You make your home when you're earning your own money and paying for your own place," Athena said. Her voice rose in volume. "I'm not ready to argue. You have another month here. That is final."

Something buzzed, cutting into their conversation. Annabeth's phone was vibrating on the dining table with a familiar name and picture on screen. Annabeth's heart dropped. She stared at the name as if it'd go away if she didn't pick up. The person on the other end rang her again and again. _Luke Castellan_. No way. No freaking way. She last saw him broken, limping his way into the museum. He had the nerve not to show up to school for an entire month and now he was calling her?

Why now of all times? Right now when Athena is staring her down and Annabeth is still busy trying to digest the fact that she might have to move out in January.

"Luke," Athena said, eyes narrowing at the phone that went on ringing. "Castellan, correct? He's a senior right now who is applying to Stanford. Princeton. Yale. A wonderful contact for the future, really. I heard he was up for valedictorian this year. I have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised that you're close enough to him that he's calling you."

Annabeth's mouth went dry.

"Pick the phone. Networking, Annabeth. You'll realise what a gem it is."

Annabeth glanced at Athena who was watching her closely. She leaned forward, trembling, and picked the phone from the table. Annabeth put it to her ear. She croaked, "Hello?"

**aoaoaoaoaoaoao**

"We need to talk."

The genie lair. The pain up her legs. Screaming. Percy's entire body glowing. Fire. Running. She couldn't walk. Annabeth didn't think she'd make it out alive.

"It's me, Luke."

The fear Annabeth felt standing in that genie lair, with that genie's rough hands gripping her throat, was returning. She forgot how scared she was then. Hearing Luke's voice was bringing it all back and suddenly she wanted to pass out. Athena was unblinking, tracking Annabeth's every move. Frederick and Helen were both leaning to the conversation, concerned.

"Annabeth?"

"I'm here. Give me a minute," Annabeth stuttered. She bent to grab one crutch on the ground. "Mom, is it okay if I can take this to my room?"

Athena, thank the gods, was still in a good mood. "Of course. I need to discuss your move with Frederick and Helen anyway."

It took Annabeth more than a minute to stumble her way up to her room. She crashed through the door and blindly swung an arm behind her to close it. Annabeth fell in front of her desk and swiped Percy's lamp, rubbing it vigorously. Percy came out good-natured and eating a Hershey's kiss, sitting on the floor, but froze seeing her expression.

Annabeth wiped a line of sweat from her forehead. "Hello?"

"Annabeth."

"Hi, Luke. I haven't seen you in a really long time." Percy leaned in to listen. Goosebumps erupted on Annabeth's neck where she could feel his warm breath.

"Yes. I'm aware the last time was because you were following me all the way back to the museum. Do you know how long it took us to fix the museum? We went through hell to be here and you're going to get the same thing now."

Luke wasn't supposed to know about Annabeth following him. She hadn't seen him since he went in, goddamn, how was Annabeth going to ever know what happened to Luke? Was he a genie, was he a human, Annabeth still had no proper evidence. She knew, though, deep inside that Luke was a genie.

"I heard everything from my friend you attacked in the genie trap," Luke said. His voice was metallic over the receiver.

"What? Your genie friend attacked _me_."

"I'm not talking about this over the phone, Chase," he said coldly. "I demand that you meet me at the museum immediately. Come alone. My friends and I are closely watching you through your bedroom window so don't try to ask for help from anyone. You will climb out of your window and walk the entire way to the museum. If you don't follow these instructions, my friends will attack. And don't forget that we're all genies who are free and out of our lamps. There is no Silverbane to bound our capabilities with magic. For the first time, I suppose, you humans will learn what a genie can really do."

"What? Luke, I swear I don't know what happened back at the museum. I'm just a regular girl going to high school. I'm nothing special."

"Lies. You knew what you were doing walking into the trap. You started it, and now we have to finish it."

The line went dead.

Annabeth closed her eyes, heart hammering her ribs. Percy was still on the ground with his mouth halfway open. He was close enough to have heard every word Luke uttered.

"He or his friends can't see me right now," Percy whispered. "I'm on the floor. Otherwise he would've mentioned me."

Annabeth opened her eyes, horrified. "You're not actually considering going. I'm calling the authorities. If they can't see you, you can call the authorities for me."

"Annabeth. You don't know what a genie is capable of. I won't be surprised if they're eavesdropping right now. Hell, they probably _do _know I'm here but neglected to mention me to throw you off your game."

"Then still nothing they should know about…" Annabeth lowered her eyes, pointing at Jason's lamp hidden from plain sight.

Percy pulled out a pen and piece of paper from Annabeth's desk. He scribbled something on it in a hurry and crawled to wear Jason's lamp was underneath Annabeth's bed. Percy slipped the note through the spout of Jason's lamp and retracted. "I'm going into my own lamp. Get a backpack and put me in that."

"Percy, we're not going."

"Do you want to die? Do you want to see Helen and the boys and your dad dead?"

Annabeth blinked away tears.

"Then you get up and climb out that window. They're not bound by Silverbane, angel. To tell you honestly, even I don't know the length to what they can do." Percy picked up his lamp and in seconds, it was clattering on the ground with Percy no where in sight.

Annabeth worked quickly and quietly but she couldn't control the tears falling down her face. This was the end of the road. Luke was clear. The genies were going to finish it. And they were going to do that by killing her. Annabeth was limping straight to her death bed and this time, even Percy wouldn't be able to save her. It was one genie last time and a wish to burn an entire museum to the ground.

She slung her bag over her shoulders and grabbed the single crutch on the ground. The other crutch was still by the dining table downstairs where Helen, Frederick, and Athena were eating dinner.

Fear pulsed through Annabeth's veins. All she wanted to do was help a genie friend who was trapped in their lamp. Where had she gone wrong? What had she found herself in?

* * *

**Hello all you lovelies xx I finished the chapter early so decided to update before Saturday. I didn't actually end up doing the Rachel thing I wanted to. I put that away for a bit later 'cause I think this way makes more sense ****chronologically. **

**I really do hope you liked it. are you guys still finding this story engaging? If not, I seriously have to step it up!**

**Love all the reviews, favs, and follows! thank you SOOOO much, it's such amazing motivation to keep writing**

**I'm going to go back to the weekly update schedule now until like February or so ('cause school trip then that's three weeks long so I'll have to break in the updates). I'll try to update every Saturday! **

**Ami**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own the PJO characters**

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Chapter Twelve

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Luke was waiting by the entrance of the museum. To Annabeth's surprise, he gave her a brilliant smile when she approached. The moon was high in the sky tonight and he almost looked like he was glowing in the moonlight. He wore a formal tuxedo with his hair swept to the side, a bouquet of flowers in his hands. Luke seemed confident, too. His shoulders were squared and there wasn't an ounce of doubt in his movement as he neared her.

Annabeth saw him and stopped a couple feet away from where he stood. Luke walked the way to her, offering her the bouquet of flowers. She stared at him, beyond confused. A small part of her wondered if Luke truly did like her back and this whole thing was a ploy to take her on a date. But then she met Luke's eyes, saw the malice shining underneath, and turned away in distaste. This was no ploy. His eyes showed no mercy.

What he did next made Annabeth sick to her stomach.

"Take the flowers, Annabeth. I picked them out specifically for you."

Annabeth took the flowers, fingers trembling.

Luke motioned towards a small park next to the museum. Through a few trees, Annabeth could see a small pond with a picnic laid out in front.

"We need to talk," Luke said. His voice was nothing like it was on the phone. It was delicate now. Fragile. He moved towards the picnic set up in front of the pond and Annabeth followed wordlessly.

Luke settled on the picnic mat, motioning Annabeth to sit next to him. Her crutch fell on the grass next to her. She was grateful to sit, her legs needed a break after all, but if any of Luke's friends came barrelling towards her, Annabeth wouldn't be able to run.

Then again, she couldn't run even if she were standing.

"What is all this, Luke? Over the phone, you wanted me dead."

"Isn't this what you wanted from me?" Luke asked her. "Don't you want me to take your hand, tell you that you're beautiful, and kiss you soundless until you can't remember your own name? Tell me this isn't what you've been dreaming about."

A shudder made its way up Annabeth's spine. She surveyed the candles lining the basket. The entire scene of a picnic in front of a pond hidden in the trees seemed awfully romantic. "Maybe at one point."

"Now no more? What a shame. What is it that repelled you from me, Annabeth?"

She stared at him in disbelief. What was he doing? Where were his friends?

"I'm giving you what you want," Luke said. "As a last meal. Take this from me and at least one of your many dreams will come true before you die."

"And what exactly have I done to deserve death?"

"You attacked my friend when you walked into the trap we set. He still hasn't woken up. I don't know what you used on him. I know he wasn't using his magic to his greatest capability. After all, he was dealing with what he thought was a puny human. But it confuses all of us you were able to put him to sleep that even to this day, he hasn't woken up. It wasn't hard to guess what happened when I realised there was Annabeth Chase running from the fire, and she couldn't walk. My friend must've tried cursing you. But you stopped the curse halfway through. Makes me wonder how."

"You've got it all wrong. I didn't attack anyone. I followed _you _into the museum and that's when your friend tried cursing me."

"You're a spy for the authorities, Annabeth. A spy who got too far. I know about your kind. I know you don't have a genie of your own because spies are never given a lamp."

Annabeth's mouth dropped open. They didn't know about Percy. If the genie in the trap never woke up, there was no one to tell Luke to watch out for Percy. "You're wrong. You have it all wrong. I have a —"

Luke narrowed his eyes at her, cutting her off. "May I offer you some chocolate balls?"

Annabeth blinked, taken back. She hugged her backpack.

"Oh, I insist. These chocolate balls," Luke continued. "Are straight from Belgium." He reached forward to lift the picnic basket. Instead of chocolate balls, he came out with a wicked, sharp blade and laid it across his lap.

Annabeth's heartbeat jumped to her throat.

"I truly despise liars, Annabeth." Luke ran a finger down the blade and left a line of blood down his path. "Now take a chocolate ball from inside the picnic basket and put it in your mouth. Savour the test while I slit your throat. Look at how kind I've been. I've honoured your dream by taking you on a date. I'm offering chocolate before you go. I might even give you a kiss."

Before this moment, Annabeth had never known fear like she understood it now. Cold drafts waved up and down her body. She had to stop the urge to turn around and empty her stomach out on the grass. Luke was teasing her. He was mocking her and he was loving it.

Annabeth felt something vibrate against her hand. Her heartbeat sped up as she unzipped her backpack in a hurry and grabbed Percy's lamp, slamming it down between herself and Luke. "If spies don't have genie lamps, _why _do I have one?"

Luke went cross-eyed at the genie lamp. "You stole that from somewhere."

"No. Inside there is _my _genie. I've been trying to help him get out of the lamp and that's why I followed you. Because I knew you were a genie who was out and I wanted to know how. He's the one who fought back against your friend in the genie trap. I'm no spy."

Luke's lip curled. "I should kill you right now."

Annabeth lunged forward, rubbing at the side of the lamp urgently. A whoosh of sparkles later, Percy was sitting next to her. He met her eyes first, his green eyes storming and his hair sticking out in every direction. His shirt was crumpled and some white powder was evident on his jeans. Percy was barefoot as always. He grabbed her hand and immediately Annabeth slumped in relief for some familiarity and security.

Percy refused to look at Luke for a second. Then he finally did. Luke gripped the blade in his lap with white knuckles. He looked like someone drove a tractor over him and left him him to rot on the streets alone. A figure approached them from behind Luke but Luke barked one order, eyes wild and livid, and the figure retracted. Annabeth's throat constricted. Luke's friend. He probably had more friends, hiding in the shadows and watching Annabeth and Percy right now.

"Luke."

"Jackson. I should've known you were involved. It sounds like something you'd do."

Percy's grip on Annabeth's hand tightened. "I would've thought you already knew I was involved. After all, I see no Silverbane chains on you."

Luke's gaze dropped to the Silverbane chains holding Percy down. "There are limitations to what magic I allow myself because there are spies everywhere and I can't risk getting caught. Humans have no mercy for genies. On the other hand, if you want a demonstration of my capabilities, I'm happy to make an example out of you."

Percy faltered. "Aren't we on the same side? I'm a genie who wants to escape the lamp. You've already escaped the lamp."

"We're not," Luke hissed. "on the same side."

"But you won't hurt me. I know you won't. You practically raised me. Just tell me how you got out and we'll be gone."

For a moment, all was still. As Luke and Percy glared at each other, an odd thought struck Annabeth. She was following everything Percy was telling her but how did she know _Percy _was right? Something foreign bubbled in her. Did Percy use her to get to Luke? The way Percy was talking to Luke right now wasn't defensive. It was as if he wanted to befriend Luke. But Luke wanted Annabeth dead for hurting his friend and knowing the truth about his identity as a genie. And Percy… Percy wanted to be free and the only person who could help him with that was _Luke_. Annabeth was only a messenger. A vessel.

"It was you in the genie lair," Luke gritted his teeth. "You hurt Kronos."

Percy's expression clouded over. "That name…"

"You don't remember Kronos. _Oh_, this is gold. Percy Jackson forgot Kronos. What else don't you remember? Clearly you remember me but what about the events that took place the day I left? You had blood running down from your forehead and onto the ground. I saw the humans when they put you in chains for the first time and you came home crying."

"Stop it!" Percy yelled out suddenly.

Annabeth jerked in surprise, her elbow digging into her backpack.

"Just tell me how you got your memories back," Percy said. "And how you got out of your lamp. I want to be free, Luke, you understand that."

Luke shrugged nonchalantly. He lifted his knife. "Annabeth Chase serves as a barrier to me right now. She knows my secret. She needs to die. I will spare you, however. I do hold some sentiment for you, I'll admit. I taught you everything you know, after all."

"No," Annabeth whimpered. She tried again and her voice came out stronger. "I'm not a spy. I promise not to tell anyone your secret. Percy and I will leave immediately."

"I want to know how—"

"I'm _not _telling you how," Luke roared. He lunged forward, blade following his path and struck the ground next to Percy. "I'm done with you. You don't remember what you did but I do and I can never forgive you for it. Ever. We are not fighting on the same side."

"What side am I on then? The moral side that wants freedom?"

"You don't even know—" Luke's face contorted. "I pity you, Jackson. Maybe if Annabeth made her ninth wish, you'd return home and learn about what is happening. Instead, you're stuck in your lamp for the rest of your life because Annabeth isn't leaving alive."

Luke took the blade out of the dirt, calmly cleaning off the grime. Then, he turned his eyes on Annabeth. She scrambled, pulling herself backwards but the grass underneath her shot up, curling themselves around her arms and legs like ropes. A bundle of grass dived into her mouth and she coughed, gagging at the blades of grass tickled the bottom of her throat.

She gurgled, unable to scream. Annabeth struggled against the grass holding her down.

"Luke," Percy screamed from the side. Some of Luke's friends were standing behind him, hands outstretched as a blast of hair hit them.

"Put him back in his lamp and block the spout," Luke ordered.

"If you hurt Annabeth, you hurt me. I can't get out of my lamp without her."

Luke's grip on the knife tightened.

"Annabeth and I will leave today. We keep your secret and you promise me a way out of this lamp the next time we meet. I need you, Luke. I wouldn't rat you out. No, I don't remember specifics but I remember your promise. You said you'd watch out for me. You said we were family. And I need Annabeth to get out of the lamp."

Luke scoffed. "Don't forget you're the one begging and I'm the one with power."

His friends dropped their hands the grass loosened. Annabeth turned onto her stomach and promptly threw up, dizzy with fear and pain. The smell only made it worse. Her whole body burned.

To Annabeth's utter surprise, the blade in Luke's disappeared. He was breathing hard, staring Percy down on the ground. Then as if he was in a trance, he leaned down, hissed one last warning, stood, and walked away. Annabeth's eyes widened. Black shadows flew in from the trees, solidifying into genies that followed Luke who was walking away. She watched his retreating figure disappear somewhere in the distance.

She lay still. What. The Hell. He walked away?

Percy hurried to Annabeth's side. He undid the grass still holding her down and Annabeth sat up, scooting away from her pile of vomit in the dirt.

"Are you okay?" He asked. "I think they're gone now."

"He walked away. Luke wanted to kill me."

Percy bowed his head. "Luke is crazy but he and I go a long way. I knew if I showed myself, he wouldn't hurt you. Because if you're dead, I have no way of escaping the lamp."

Annabeth bit her lip. She fought against the tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks. "And you couldn't tell me this before? I was freaking out on the way here."

"I'm sorry."

"You're keeping things from me."

Percy's eyebrows knitted. "I tell you everything."

"Not enough to understand what the hell just happened."

Percy searched the ground. "I'll explain on the way home. Where's your crutch?"

"I don't know."

He sighed, reaching forward to put one arm under her knees and one supporting her back. Annabeth clung to him, startled, as he lifted her bridal-style and began walking. Percy only got a foot away when his chains yanked him back to his lamp laying on the ground.

"Damn lamp," Percy cursed. Annabeth reached over her shoulder to grab the lamp and backpack before settling into his arms again.

"Okay," Percy said. "What do you want to know?"

"What history do you and Luke have?"

Percy's shoulders heaved. "I met him back in my first year of genie school. He signalled me out, saying I had potential to do a lot more than what they taught at school. For a while, we were great friends. Things went downhill when he started acting strange. He got obsessed with dark magic. Something happened. Then he got taken to be stuffed in a lamp. The end."

Annabeth peered at him. Her anger was bursting hot but she saw the layer of hurt over Percy's expression and forced down her anger. He looked like a lost puppy, trying to find a leash to attach himself to. "You really don't remember anything else, do you?"

Percy nodded glumly. "I don't know who Luke was talking about half the time. This Kronos guy is completely alien to me. I don't know what side Luke is on. I just knew he wouldn't hurt me the way you know your mom loves you even if she doesn't say it."

"My mom? You mean Athena?"

"Okay. Wrong comparison. Helen. She doesn't always tell you that she loves you but she does. The same way, I just knew Luke still cared about me."

"So you were running on gut feelings?"

"Yeah."

Annabeth arched her back to reach up and slap Percy. He jumped, almost dropping her.

"What was that for?"

"Your gut feelings."

**aoaoaoaoaoaoao**

It took Annabeth two hours to run from Helen and her dad. Athena, too, was fuming. Percy dropped Annabeth on her doorstep and disappeared into his lamp. She reached up to ring the bell and sat there miserably as Helen opened it. The police were called, Annabeth was told. Something wrong with her these days, Athena seethed. It took a while for Annabeth to make up some excuse that they believed: Piper was in trouble and needed Annabeth's help immediately.

"So why couldn't you walk out the main door?" Her dad demanded.

Annabeth opened and closed her mouth like a fish. "I… like jumping out of windows. I secretly dream of being an acrobat."

By the time Annabeth made her way back to her room, it was one in the morning. Percy and Jason were on her bed. Percy was describing everything that happened, his hands roaming in wide gestures.

"One thing's for sure," Percy said. "Luke basically told me that when Annabeth's makes the ninth wish, I don't die. We genies go back to our homeland."

Jason grinned. "I can see my family again."

"And Grover! I wonder if he's there."

"You know, I genuinely think I'll be home soon," Jason said, biting his lip. "Frank is going through his wishes like you go through Hershey's kisses chocolates. The ninth one isn't far."

Annabeth glared at them from where she leaned heavily on the closed door. She crossed the room and fell into her bed. "Now what, Percy, you want me to make my nine wishes so you can go?" Selfishly, Annabeth wanted time to make her wishes. At the end of the day, Percy was still a genie, and he was meant to grant her these.

Percy's smile turned upside-down. "It's just something else we've learned. Another clue into how to get out of the lamp."

"I thought it was simple," Jason said. "Genies against humans. But Luke doesn't think you're on the same side. Then there's the spies all around who are looking for free genies. Yet seventeen-year-olds still get their own genies all over the world. What's happening?"

"Is it…" Percy paused. "A rebellion?"

Annabeth sucked in a breath. "That would be bad."

"We don't even know where home is," Jason frowned. "And the genies back at home don't know where we are. The mass population has no clue how to cross between our two worlds unless it's through a lamp. Besides, a rebellion has two sides. Genies and humans. What's this third side Luke is on?"

Annabeth lifted the covers, burying herself in the sheets. "Okay. I'm crazy tired. I have to go to school tomorrow and already so rattled that I don't think I can sleep. So please. Back to your lamps. You can have bromance time when I'm at school."

While Jason went back to his lamp, Percy only crawled up to Annabeth further. "I'm sorry."

"No. Go away, Percy."

"But I told you everything I know. You're still mad at me?"

Annabeth scoffed. "I wanted to help you get out of your lamp. You barely told me what I was getting into. Percy, I'll admit the first time I walked into the genie trap was my fault. But we could've avoided what happened today. You used me as a way to talk to Luke. You have magic to protect yourself but as I was laying there in the grass…. I've never felt more powerless before."

Percy's eyes bore into her. "I'm really sorry."

"I don't know if I wanted to go on with this. I need time. My legs aren't fully healed and it's killing me everyday. I thought genies were supposed to be our best friends. My life was supposed to get better. I'm supposed to be walking around with gorgeous hair, confidence to rival anyone, and a loving mother."

"Are those your wishes?"

Annabeth glanced at him. "I had a whole list of things I wanted granted before I met you. I knew I would take my time with them. But… I never thought I'd end up in this mess. Luke won't leave me alone now. Especially not when you're my genie. Not to mention, I'm terrified the authorities will realise how many rules I've broken."

Percy's face was only inches away from her. He lifted a hand to brush a curl out of her face. "You're the best thing that's happened to me in forever, you know that? No genie is as lucky as I am knowing there's someone who would go through all that for me. You've broken all the rules for me. I'll grant you all the wishes you want. I promise. I'll make it up to you, angel."

Annabeth sighed. "I don't want my wishes granted right now. Honestly, it's come to the point where all I want is some peace and safety. I want to feel protected."

"I'll be there to protect you. No matter what genie wants you taken down. No more running around. I promise. We'll figure it out as it comes."

Annabeth shrugged, pulling her covers to her chin. "I won't be able to sleep tonight."

"I'm sorry, angel. You know I don't want to see you hurt."

She swallowed. Percy was something strange. He _was _starting to grow on her. He knew as much about her as Leo did even though they barely met a month and a half ago. Ever since Percy saved her from the genie trap, Annabeth had been leaning to him more and more for safety and comfort. And yes, she was hurt today. Physically and emotionally. Percy used her to get to Luke. But then Annabeth remembered how Percy refused to let Annabeth make a wish the night Athena slapped her. She remembered how he thanked her when she stole Jason's lamp for him. Or how he carried her all the way home from the park next to the museum with his chains in full display to the world, and didn't complain even once.

Percy truly didn't mean to hurt her. He was chained. A glorified slave. Annabeth had to give him that benefit of the doubt. She couldn't hold it against him in his vulnerable state. Besides, Luke would never have called her if she hadn't walked into that genie trap all that time ago. So whose fault was this mess really?

A wave of guilt washed over Annabeth.

"My mom used to sing to me when I couldn't sleep," Percy said. His eyes were half-closed. "It was my grandma who wrote the song and my mom's been singing it to me since. It's really personal; no one else knows the song."

"Hm?"

"I'll sing it to you." Percy played with her curls laying in the area between them. He had a thing for her hair. Percy was always touching it. He said, "Maybe it'll put you to sleep."

Annabeth shifted closer to him and let her head fall on his shoulder. He was surprised at first before he turned and put an arm around her, pulling her closer to his chest. His warmth was addicting. She closed her eyes.

"_There's a world out there we all want to see._"

Annabeth smiled. He wasn't bad.

"_But only the lucky can go_. _We're miles away, it makes me wonder, could I be that lucky one? They say you know the answer. They say you know my dreams. So be the one. Take me there. Take me to where I want to be._"

Annabeth didn't really understand the song but she put it aside to some genie culture it was probably based on. A legend? Superstition? Percy went on singing, the ball in his throat bobbing. She could feel it against her forehead where she nuzzled into him.

The chorus came.

"_I followed the stars to a place I don't know. I landed the moon on the sun._"

Annabeth's eyes snapped open. She knew those words. She had heard them before.

"_I can't tell why but I can't tell us apart._"

Her heart slammed against her ribcage and sweat tricked down Annabeth's forehead. Her mind whirred. This was not happening. Percy said that no one else knew the song. It was impossible.

Annabeth couldn't find the song when she typed the lyrics into her phone. Because it was a genie song. All this time, it had been a song that Percy's grandma, a genie, wrote. That girl was crazy. That girl had probably made her nine wishes already. That girl was an absolute wreck. That girl… no way. How?

"_If only you'd just tell me how._"

Rachel.

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**okay, so that wasn't my proudest chapter. it really wasn't that great. I did meet the sat. deadline though soooo yay?**

**leave me a review though? :)))**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own the PJO characters**

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Chapter Thirteen

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Annabeth woke up to the sound of her brothers banging on the door. She lay still for a moment, cursing the sun. Percy was gone from next to her. She must've fallen asleep at some point and he left for his lamp. Another bang at her door. Annabeth lugged herself out of bed.

Her dad poked his head inside. "I have to go now. And don't forget you're alone today and you can order in dinner. Got it?"

Annabeth groggily rubbed her eyes. "Alone? Wait what?"

"I told you a couple days ago, remember? I'm off to a conference nearby," he said slowly, exasperated. "And Helen is taking the boys for a soccer tournament in the same place. We'll be back early tomorrow morning but you're stuck with dinner on your own then tonight."

"Oh. Yeah, you did tell me."

The first thing Annabeth did was call Leo and ask him if he could pick her up. He made some dumb, crude joke and promised he would be there in half an hour. Once her family had left, Annabeth took Jason and Percy's lamps down to the living room to leave them there. Percy loved the living room but because there was always someone there, he could never stay there for long. At least now, Percy and Jason had all day on their own.

Annabeth sulked her day through the school day then. Rachel wasn't at school that day which made her restless: after hearing Percy singing the same song last night, she was wary of Rachel.

Thalia, on the other hand, was at school. Annabeth was tempted to ask Thalia where Rachel was but she decided against it. There was no point pondering on about it: it was a song and that was all it was.

After school, Leo and Annabeth were supposed to hang out at the mechanics store but Leo's dad refused to pick them up after school. They resorted to walking all the way back to Annabeth's home with Leo carrying both backpacks and Annabeth hobbling along on one crutch.

"Three days," Leo was complaining a car whizzed by them. "I've been begging her for three days."

"She's not going to give you a higher grade for this semester. You're dead already."

Leo scowled. "She's a fucking hawk, you know? I hate her."

"At least this is the first class you've had with her. I've had her for biology for the past three years and she's never given me an A. Always at a B no matter what I do."

"That's a first to hear from you. I thought this recent test in biology was the only one you messed up on."

Annabeth shrugged.

"I have to tell you something by the way," Leo said. He rolled his shoulders backwards. "I think I might've finally figured out a way to convince Thalia to come with me to the Christmas Ball."

Annabeth sighed.

"It's my fashion sense," Leo said, pleased. "I had my suspicions but I get it now. She wants a guy in a suit. I'm coming to school in a suit on Monday."

"Oh my gods, I can't be seen with you."

"Maybe I'll get Hazel to help me with my suit selection."

"You have only one suit."

He mulled it over. "Yeah, actually. I didn't realise."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Speaking of Hazel, do you know what you're going to make your second wish?"

"I don't want to make one right now. Especially after hearing that girl, Crystal, who got robbed the day after she made all her wishes. But I have a feeling the next one I make will do with my dad."

"Is something wrong with him?"

"No," Leo bit his lip. His body slumped. "A little bit. We have a year and a half and a bit before we leave for university. Ever since my mom died, it's been just my dad and I. He's already getting impatient knowing that I'll be leaving soon and I know it's going to get worse from here. Maybe I'll do something before I leave so he won't feel lonely."

"I never knew you felt that way."

"But what is a wish going to do, right?" Leo scoffed. "I've realised ever since I got Hazel, genies are kind of useless."

Annabeth went quiet.

"Hazel fixed my teeth, sure. But she keeps saying no to everything else. She says all my wish ideas are out of her ability. It confuses me. Should I be mad that Hazel can't grant me wishes or am I supposed to feel bad because she's in chains?"

"There have to be restrictions on wishes, Leo. If everyone was able to run free with whatever wishes they want, humans would destroy itself."

"Isn't that basically what the genies are like? They basically grant themselves wishes and they have an infinite number of wishes. Maybe that's why they're chained up. Give them all that freedom, they'll tear each other apart. I suppose that's the natural way of things anyway. I love Hazel, though. She's a literal angel. She makes me feel so bad about even things like littering."

Annabeth's grip tightened around her single crutch. She wasn't sure to what extent she agreed with that statement. Instead, she kept walking. Someone past by them and Leo whipped around, craning his neck to get a better look. He gave her a pout when she glared at him.

"I thought I knew her from school," Leo protested.

"Uh-huh. Okay."

"Have you noticed, by the way, that Luke hasn't shown up to school for almost a month and a half? He's in one of my classes and my teacher is beyond annoyed at his absence."

Annabeth shrugged. "I was more curious about Rachel. You won't believe what happened last night. Rachel sings that weird song about landing the sun on the moon, right? Last night, Percy tried to sing me asleep and he sang the exact same song. He said his grandma wrote the song and no one else knew it. It gave me the chills."

"Annabeth, I told you to stop with all the genie stuff."

"I have," she insisted, the lie rolling off her tongue. She refused to tell Leo about her encounter with Luke yesterday. "All Percy and I talk about now is… what wishes I can make and when I should make them. He's a friend. That's all. I'm not helping him escape the lamp."

Leo didn't answer, giving her a look somewhere in the middle of guilt and utter exasperation. She wasn't sure which one it was more of.

Within seconds, Annabeth house was looming in front of them and Annabeth dug out her house key to open it. Before she opened the door, she spun around, beaming at Leo. "I want to show you something."

"Yeah?"

Annabeth dropped her crutch on the ground, feet shakily planted on the pavement by her front door. She took several steps before throwing herself against the door. She whirled around with a grin. "I can walk!"

Leo whooped loudly. "Finally! Now we can go paint balling." He looked ridiculous with his own bag on his back, Annabeth's on his stomach, and his hands in the air.

"Not yet. I can only go a few steps before my knees decide they want to die."

"That's a few more than zero steps. I'm proud of you. You'll be up and running around soon," Leo bent down to grab her crutch from the ground and held it out to her. He pushed open the door and Annabeth stumbled through after him.

Annabeth pointed at the stairs. "I'm going to go put my stuff away. I'll be back down in a few minutes."

It was getting easier to go up the stairs everyday. Whatever curse the genie in the trap put on her, she could feel it fading. Annabeth pushed against the door, dropping her bag on the ground. She made her way to the window sill, drawing open the curtains she accidentally left closed in the morning.

Through her window was a line of trees between her and her neighbour's home. She could see the light on in their kitchen downstairs where an unruly man was hunting through the cupboards. Her neighbour's dog was crossing over into her family's plot again. It was wandering through the line of trees, skipping through the bushes lining their fence, with its tongue hanging free. Annabeth watched as the dog scampered up to the corner of the plot. It curled into itself all of a sudden, letting out a loud bark she could hear through the closed window. The dog turned on its hind legs and ran back to the neighbour's front door.

Annabeth spotted what scared the dog away and her blood turned to ice.

Someone stood in the corner of the plot, where the line of trees met the fence near the back of her home. It was a woman with broad shoulders and long brown hair braided down her back. She was clearly shorter than Annabeth, gazing into a window on the first floor of Annabeth's home. The woman wore a long, silk gown-like dress that stopped at her ankles to reveal bare feet. It was red in color that contrasted greatly with the woman's pale skin. Annabeth knew, she didn't need to see the woman's aura like Percy did to identify genies and humans. Annabeth knew the woman was a genie.

The woman lifted her head and met Annabeth's. Her eyes were a piercing brown. There wasn't an ounce of warmth in them.

Annabeth backed away from the window, her heart hammering. She wrapped her arms around her torso, and focused on counting down from ten to slow her breathing down. A wave of terror undulated through her. Luke had probably sent someone to watch her day and night. She was stupid to have not expected that.

"Annie!"

Annabeth swallowed, pushing herself off the bed and stumbling to her door. She saw herself red-faced in the mirror before stepping out of the room. "Leo?"

"You got a dog! You didn't tell me! It's so cute and fluffy; it looks like a ball!"

Annabeth's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She glanced back in her room and scanned the area before it dawned on her. Leo was talking about _Blackjack_. She completely forgot that she left Percy and Jason's lamps downstairs. That's why the curtains were closed: Annabeth usually left them open for Percy and Jason to have sunlight.

Without another thought to stop her, Annabeth ran down the stairs. Her running was more like crawling and standing before falling and back to crawling. She threw her weight against the living room door where she saw Leo on the couch, cuddling with Blackjack. Annabeth hadn't seen Blackjack since she was in Percy's lamp… over two months ago now.

"So I've realised it's a he," Leo said, his face half buried in Blackjack's fur. The poor dog's eyes were bugging out in fear. "When did you get him? And why, for hell's sake, did you not tell me?"

Annabeth's mouth stayed half-way open.

"He's so damn fluffy," Leo went on, purring to Blackjack. "What's his name?"

"He's my… aunt's dog who I am watching for the weekend," Annabeth trailed off. Blackjack was here, out and about, but where were Percy and Jason? She left their lamps on the dining table but now they were no where to be seen. With a start, Annabeth realised there were absolutely no chains on Blackjack. This whole time, Blackjack had been roaming free.

Leo stood, cradling Blackjack like a baby. Blackjack, however, looked like he wanted to die. "Well, I'm spending the weekend over then. Who's a good boy? _Who's a good boy_?"

Annabeth stayed rooted to the spot, bewildered, as Leo made his way across the living room and towards the kitchen. Once he was out of sight, Annabeth went to the dining table, searching the tabletop for her two familiar genie lamps. She wanted to pull her hair out. Where the hell were they? Did someone take them? Annabeth remembered the woman standing outside her window. Did the woman break into her home while she was at school?

"Annie!"

"What is it, Leo? I'm doing something."

"I didn't you had a cousin over!"

Annabeth's eyes widened. She made her way to the kitchen area where she saw Jason frozen over a bowl full of flour. Leo stood in the doorway of the kitchen, petting Blackjack and grinning like a maniac. Jason had a smudge of flour on his forehead and his face was flushed but he looked good-natured.

"Cousin?" Annabeth asked, giving Jason a pointed look. Percy was nowhere in sight.

Jason forced a smile. "You must be Leo. Annabeth has mentioned you before."

"Has she now?" Leo smirked. "I am worth mentioning, yes."

"What are you doing?" Annabeth asked, eyes flickering over the ingredients on the kitchen counter.

"Cake baking," Jason said. "Apparently humans eat cakes when they want to celebrate someone's birthday. Today it is Blackjack's birthday." He paused, panic visible on his face. "Because I am a great human as much as the dog Blackjack. Aristotle once assumed dogs were… um… different versions of humans."

Leo sent Annabeth an amused quirk of the eyebrows. "Okay, dude. I'm not into all that philosophy stuff, but sure." He took a moment to bury his face in Blackjack's fur.

While Leo was looking away, Annabeth mouthed to Jason, "_What the hell?_"

Jason gave her a _help-me_ look instead.

"I'm Leo."

Jason went cross-eyed. "I'm… Jonathan."

Percy appeared behind Jason, looking frazzled. Annabeth's eyes widened when she saw both their lamps on the ground next to the fridge. Percy dumped a giant book on the kitchen countertop. "I conjured this. I finally fixed all the paintings that Blackjack destroyed. That dog keeps me on my toes." He spotted Leo holding Blackjack. "Hey! That's my baby!"

Leo's eyes shot open and he squeaked when Percy lunged across Jason to snatch Blackjack back. Percy glared at Leo, petting Blackjack who wanted nothing more to run back into the living room.

"Well you showed up out of nowhere," Leo crossed his arms. "Another cousin?"

"Cousin?" Percy scoffed.

Annabeth made a throat slitting motion behind Leo but to her demise, Percy wasn't looking at her. Jason looked like he wanted to faint.

Percy set Blackjack on the ground and he darted through Annabeth's legs and disappeared in the living room. "I'm not her cousin, thank you very much. If we were cousins, I'd share the same genes as Annabeth, which I'd much rather not."

Annabeth scowled. "Asshat."

"Not cousin?" Leo glanced at Annabeth. "Let me guess. Your actual cousin, Jonathan, is gay and now this dude is his boyfriend."

Percy looked scandalised. "Who's Jonathan?"

"Your boyfriend? He's standing right behind you."

Annabeth buried her face in her hand. This was going terribly. Jason looked downright terrified.

"What? No, that's my friend Jason."

Leo's eyes crinkled. "I thought he was a Jonathan. Who are you then?"

"I'm a Percy."

"Okay, that's a familiar name. Definitely heard that one before," Leo halted. His eyes widened, his gaze flickering to the ground where the obvious smoke trails from Jason and Percy led directly to the lamps. He whirled around, facing Annabeth, before backing away and disappearing into the living room.

"Great," Annabeth hissed. "Thanks, Percy. We were actually convincing him that you guys were my human cousins."

Percy was poker-faced. "Whatever."

"Not everyone is flexible with the rules, Percy. Leo doesn't completely put his faith in the rules but he follows them. He's scared to know the authorities might find out I'm breaking them. Besides, he treats his genie right. It's not like Frank and Jason."

Annabeth hobbled back to where Leo was unzipping his backpack in the living room. She grabbed his arm and pulled him down on the couch before he could walk out the door. "Leo. I'm sorry."

"You didn't listen to me about breaking the rules," Leo scowled. "Okay. I've stopped trying. But _I _refuse to break the rules anymore. I'm all for fun and games, hell, I'm the king of pranks at school. When it comes to our lives, I'm not ready to play. I don't have a death wish. Shit, I should never have let you steal Jason's lamp. It was the biggest mistake I ever made. I thought it was harmless. I was never more wrong. When you saw me talking to Jason, why didn't you stop me? You should've pulled me aside instead of just standing there."

"Leo, no one is going to know. Please. Just meet them once, they're both really sweet. You've already seen them anyway. What's the harm talking to them?"

Leo shut his eyes, forcing air out of his nose. Annabeth could hear his heart beating loudly, even from where she sat on the couch with her knee digging into his thigh. For a moment, Annabeth thought she had convinced him but Leo stood up again, zipping his backpack shut. "Don't call me this weekend."

"Leo," Annabeth begged. "Leo, I'm sorry. It was a mistake." She remained frozen on the couch, watching as her best friend kicked the door open and left.

Annabeth crumbled right there. She wasn't crying but her eyes burned as she buried her face in one of the cushions on the couch. Ever since she told Leo about helping Percy out of his lamp, their relationship had been strained. She was doing the right thing. Percy was a glorified slave and she was fighting back against that injustice by helping free him, despite the danger involved with Luke and the woman standing just outside her window. Why couldn't Leo see that? What was stopping him from understanding?

"Annabeth?"

Annabeth gritted her teeth.

"Annabeth?"

She stood, crossing to the kitchen where Jason and Percy were. Jason gave her an apologetic look. He motioned towards Percy who was scowling at the window. Percy barely met Annabeth's gaze before returning to the window.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth," Jason said. "But my bigger worry right now is whether Leo is going to tell someone. We need to… eradicate him."

Annabeth's mouth filled with something metallic. "He won't tell anyone. How dare you jump to the idea of killing him?"

"I'm just saying, a dead man will take his secrets to the grave. The authorities cannot, under any circumstances, know that we are breaking the rules. I don't think you understand what will happen to Percy and I, even you, if the authorities found out."

"No," Annabeth seethed. "You touch my best friend and I'll kill you myself. Besides, Leo already knows everything. Who do you think helped me steal Frank's lamp? I may not have told him details about Luke or about the way you two are getting your memories back, but he already knows I've broken more than a few rules."

"You _told _him?"

Jason made some sound of a cat getting strangled. "Leo needs to die. It's the genie way. No mercy. We should be heading towards him right now."

"This isn't your genie world," Annabeth shot back. "You're in my world. I don't care about your dumb genie way. Leo is my best friend and neither of you are going to hurt him. Not that you can even do that if I toss your lamps in the closet and leave you there."

Jason gave Percy an exasperated look. It was the first time Annabeth was seeing him express any other emotion other than _happy _and _rigid_. In a poof of flour, he disappeared into his lamp and left Percy with Annabeth.

"This isn't our world," Percy muttered, glaring at the ceiling. "But our world is leaking into yours. I know you have really different morals that we do, but for genies, the world is merciless. Back in my genie school, I've seen my teacher murdering a student because the student played a prank of them that made the teacher look bad. You saw the genie in the trap and the way Luke was ready to slit your throat. Do you know we're being watched?"

Annabeth scowled. "I know. I saw the woman from my bedroom window."

Percy snapped his fingers, and Annabeth felt the air her rush. She stretched her arm out on instinct and jumped on shaky legs when she connected with solidified air.

"What is this?"

"I had to," Percy said. "I don't want Jason listening in. You shouldn't have told him that Leo knows everything."

"Because now he wants to kill Leo? Wonderful."

Percy shook his head. "You can't tell Jason anything, okay? You can't trust Jason. You can't talk to Jason about anything new you find out about what's happening Luke or anything. Even the rundown I gave Jason about meeting Luke yesterday barely skimmed the surface."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "He's your best friend."

"Friend," Percy said. "But that's all. No more telling Leo what's happening. With Luke and this genie watching us, we're only falling deeper into this mess and to survive it, you can't trust anyone. No one is your friend. Not even Jason who will kill you without a second thought."

"Who do I trust then?"

"Me. I mean, we're a team in this, aren't we?"

Annabeth hugged her midriff. She wondered how many genies or humans have said the same thing about Percy. Percy was a genie who grew up the same way as Jason. She wasn't completely sure trusting Percy was the right way to go either. "I just lost my best friend. All I want right now is to go out there and tell him sorry. I don't want to be standing here hearing about something I can easily figure out on my own anyway. In fact, I'm leaving right now. Leo will understand. I know he will."

Percy grabbed her wrist, grabbing her by the waist and hoisting her up on the kitchen counter. Annabeth froze. She was sitting directly in the view of a gap in the curtain and wall where she could see the woman standing outside staring at her. Her hands automatically clenched, and she took fistfuls of Percy's shirt to keep herself from moving. The woman outside lifted her head higher. As if she were standing right in front of Annabeth, the woman smiled lightly.

There was no way Annabeth could leave the house alone. The woman should've at least tried to hide herself, but she was standing in plain view, completely unnerved. She holed into herself. Annabeth wanted nothing to do with the whole genie mess but clearly, she let herself delve too far into it to leave anytime soon.

* * *

**Erm... sorry it's late? At least I updated right :( Little hint for what comes next though: It's all about Rachel who has actually ended up as one of my fav characters in this story haha. And a sneak peek, in Chapter 15, you'll finally learn about everything that's happening! Can you guess what it is before chap. 15?**

**as always, thank you so much for all the support :). Someone was against Frank being a meanie and haha I totally get that. Frank isn't my fav character and I needed to stick someone under the bus but I promise he'll go through a character arc to get him somewhere nicer.**

**bless me with a hundred reviews, will you? :D**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO characters**

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Chapter Fourteen

* * *

That night, Annabeth lay curled up on the couch with the curtains drawn over every window in the house. All the windows and doors were locked but she still fretted it wasn't enough. The lighting in her living room was a dim yellow and some old 90's romance film played on her television; Helen had a strange obsession with black and white movies and kept an entire stash of them.

It felt lonely. Annabeth thought she'd spent the night cracking up at Leo trying to fit an entire can's worth of whipped cream in his mouth. She thought maybe even Percy and Jason could join in and they could all forget who was a genie and who was human. For once, they could be just friends. Instead, Leo hadn't answered her fifteen calls. Jason and Percy spent almost three hours talking, and the second Annabeth walked in on them, Jason disappeared. His lamp was stashed in her room upstairs somewhere. Annabeth had no ambition to bring it downstairs.

Percy's lamp, on the other hand, was in the kitchen. He had been spending his days training Blackjack to carry his lamp from one place to another. Of course, what else did Annabeth think he'd spend his time doing when she was at school? The second Jason scrammed, Percy took out a cookbook thicker than Annabeth's arm. Annabeth didn't know what he was making. But she wondered why he hadn't done it in his own kitchen in the lamp.

Annabeth fought the urge to check outside the window. Was the woman still standing there? Annabeth already knew the answer.

"Hey."

Annabeth lifted her gaze to meet Percy's from where he stood by the kitchen doorway.

"What are you thinking?"

"That depends."

"On?"

"What are you making?"  
Percy smiled. "Cookies. Blue cookies."

Annabeth quirked an eyebrow.

"I just put them in the oven." Percy started towards her; his arms instantly jerked towards the kitchen, and he fell on the ground cursing. For a moment, his chains became visible again before they became smoke. He whistled for Blackjack who went bounding from on top of Annabeth to pick up Percy's lamp with his teeth. Blackjack dropped the lamp in front of the couch.

"Percy, I'm saying this for the third time. If your dog has an accident on my carpet, you're cleaning it up."

"It'll only take one touch and it'll be clean, darling" Percy promised. He threw himself over the couch. "What are you watching?"

Annabeth glanced at the television once and then at the phone in her hand.

"Leo still hasn't answered you, huh?"

"No. Gods, I'm terrified I lost him. I keep forgetting how guarded the rest of the world is of genies. My own parents gave me a million warnings before I got you."

Percy's eyes bore into her. His expression was somewhere between sadness and hope, it wasn't easy to tell. He went sombre, pulling his legs up to his chest and burying his legs underneath Annabeth's. His warm touch left tingles going up her body.

"Don't you get tired of not having someone you can trust?" Annabeth asked, draping herself over the back of the couch. "You and Jason…"

"Have a mutual understanding," Percy filled the blank. He gave her a half-smile. "There was a time I would do anything for Jason, but we haven't seen each other in three years. We need to time to build trust again. I've realised that there are a few things you humans do right. I don't know if it's always been so hard to trust anyone back where I came from, but it was what I grew up into. Besides, it's not like I have no one to trust. I would lay my life down for my mom. Or my baby sister. Although, I suppose now she's a lot older than a baby."

"But here, in your lamp, you're all alone."

Percy shrugged. "I'm lucky, angel. I have you. I have Blackjack. Jason doesn't even have a pet. Maybe that's why he's ended up so much crueler than he was three years ago."

Annabeth hummed as Percy turned his attention to the television. She watched as his forehead creased in confusion. She'd known Percy's sea green eyes were unique and in some ways, alluring. He looked content sitting there on the other end of the couch, legs curled up against Annabeth's, cookies in the oven, and dog grovelling on the carpet nearby. He was handsome, sure, Annabeth had noticed that the second he came out of the lamp. But Percy was sweet too. It didn't always come through with his smirks and dumb petnames, but Annabeth knew he cared.

A bing came from the kitchen and Blackjack barked.

"The cookies." Percy was up in seconds, his lamp in Blackjack's teeth, hurrying to the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, he came back with a metal tray with an array of misshapen blue chocolate chip cookies littered on it. Percy grinned at her, offering her the biggest one in the middle.

Annabeth swallowed her first bite. "They're delicious."

"And they're blue."

She caught a glimpse of his metallic blue lamp on the ground. "Do you bake a lot in your lamp?"

Percy shook his head, taking a cookie for himself.

"Thank you. I love them."

He gave her a tight-lipped smile that didn't reach his eyes. Percy turned his head towards the television once again. "Well, they do say the fastest way to a girl's heart is to bake her some cookies."

Annabeth froze, cookie halfway to her mouth. Percy went on staring at the television like he hadn't said anything. Something foreign, and strangely warm, bubbled in Annabeth's stomach. She breathed out forcefully, stuffing the cookie in her mouth. Percy was a flirt. He had always been a flirt. That was all this was.

**aoaoaoaoaoaoaoao**

Annabeth was going to school without crutches for the first time in over a month. Each leg had braces on, but at least it was better than walking with two crutches. She sat on her bed, gingerly tugging at the straps of her backpack. Jason and Percy sat on the ground in front of her, cross-legged and muttering to each other in low whispers. Jason was leaving today, and they weren't sure when Jason would return. Annabeth, on the other hand, was pleased to see Jason go. The blond genie made her nervous, especially after the fiasco with Leo seeing them.

"Thanks, Annabeth," Jason said. He gave her a genuine smile. "You truly made my week. Seeing Percy again… I don't think I can thank you enough."

"Maybe don't mention any of this to Frank."

"I promise he won't know anything. Please make sure Leo does not tell anyone either."

Annabeth pursed her lips. "He's trustworthy. He won't tell anyone."

A few minutes later, Percy was standing by the side as Jason disappeared into his lamp. Annabeth knelt and scooped up Jason's lamp, tucking it into the front pocket of her backpack.

Percy gave her a long face. "Take him back safely."

Annabeth nodded. "Nothing will happen to Jason." She remembered when Percy told her not to trust Jason. It didn't mean, apparently, that Percy didn't still care about Jason. Honestly, genie customs and habits were confusing for Annabeth.

Getting to school was the easy part of her morning. She was nervous about the genie she knew was still following her Annabeth around. But then, Helen offered Annabeth a ride in the car. Half an hour before school started, she was opening Frank's locker with a bobby pin and her face hidden in a hoodie. She pushed Jason's lamp exactly where she saw last time. She faltered, her fingers skimming the surface of his smooth metal. Annabeth should be doing something to save Jason from Frank. Maybe that's why Jason was so adamant to kill Leo: because he had spent the last three years being treated like crap. Maybe if Jason had a human like Annabeth, who broke all the rules without hesitating, the poor guy would be kinder.

"Good luck," Jason's voice projected from the lamp. "If you succeed, come back for me?

"I will."

Annabeth shut the locker closed, standing still for a second. She heard footsteps down the hall and immediately spun away from the locker on shaky legs. Far down the hallway, she stripped the hoodie off her and threw it in the nearest trash can. By luck, no one would know she stole someone else's lamp. It hadn't struck her how dangerous what she did was. Flashes of heat waves ran up and down her body.

Annabeth stood by her favourite tree in the garden, scanning the crowd around her for Leo. Class was starting soon but she couldn't see him anywhere. Her heart plummeted.

By the time Annabeth entered her first class of the day, biology, Rachel was already seated. Piper was absent, sick at home, so Annabeth ended up lugging herself to the seat next to Rachel.

Rachel sat up straighter, instantly reaching out to yank at one of Annabeth's curls. "Princess! You have white hair!"

Annabeth stared at Rachel gurgling on about her hair. She felt dizzy all of a sudden, remembering how Percy sang the same song Rachel sung over and over again.

"Yeah, Rachel," Annabeth murmured. "We've established that."

"I have black hair!"

"Red, actually."

"I dreamed of genies last night! They scared me so much, Annabeth, I wanted to hide."

"We all have nightmares sometimes."

A tear slid down Rachel's cheek and she hugged herself. "I miss home. I miss it a lot. It was scary there, but I had my magic! I could snap my fingers and make things appear all the time. I still can, but it's so limiting! I can barely do half the things I used to be able to do."

Annabeth frowned. She hadn't thought about it before but now it was wounding its way into her head. Was Rachel a genie like Luke and Percy? It would explain some strange things Rachel did, but it still wouldn't explain some other things. Genies weren't mad like Rachel was. But if Rachel was a genie from the homeland, maybe she knew Percy.

Annabeth groaned into her hands. Gods, she was getting sick of it. The mystery was consuming her but her legs reminded her that at the end of the day, Annabeth was only human. She couldn't get involved. She wouldn't come out alive, otherwise. One day, her luck will run out.

**aoaoaoaoaoaoaoao**

Eventually, Annabeth did see Leo. He was walking swiftly past the garden tree, back into the building, holding a poster almost as big as he was. It wasn't the poster that made Annabeth's jaw drop when she saw him.

Leo was all decked out in a formal suit with the dress shoes and black coat. Annabeth watched, stunned, as a few strands of his neatly combed hair danced as he made his way up the stairs and disappeared into the building. Her arms dropped. Annabeth didn't know if he was simply ignoring her or if he was busy, but Leo still hadn't texted her back.

"Annabeth!"

Rachel stood by one of the tables, waving her arms in the air for Annabeth to see. She gave a small smile, motioning Annabeth to the table. "Come eat with me!"

Annabeth cautiously made her way to Rachel and slid into a seat. Seconds later, Thalia Grace marched up to the table and sat across from them. Her khol-lined eyes met Annabeth's and immediately, Annabeth wanted to shrivel up into a ball. Today, Thalia had streaks of blue in her hair.

"How was social studies?" Thalia asked Rachel.

Rachel grinned. "I loved what we did today. We had a debate about the line of middle east conflicts and I had so much to say."

Thalia snorted. "I should have expected that. The teacher loves you."

"She calls me a genius," Rachel said. "But let's be honest, seeing my grades in calculus, calling me a genius is a little out of the way."

Annabeth faked a laugh. What she found creepiest about Rachel was how quickly the red-head could switch from sane to insane.

A couple more minutes went by with Thalia outright ignoring Annabeth and Rachel rambling on and on. Sometime along the way, Rachel started singing again. "_I followed the stars to a place I don't know_."

"Rachel," Annabeth cut in. "Where did you learn that song?"

"Do you want me to teach you?"

"No. I'm asking where you learned it."

"I'd love to teach you!" Rachel reached out to touch one of Annabeth's curls.

Annabeth grabbed Rachel's hand and slammed it on the table. Something clicked in her in that second, something so desperate and frustrated. "Tell me where you heard that song for the first time."

Rachel promptly burst into tears.

"Rachel," Annabeth snapped. "Where did you hear it?"

Rachel's voice choked with saliva and tears. She wailed loudly, thrashing her limbs in every direction. She tried pulling away from Annabeth's iron grip around her wrist but Annabeth only pinned Rachel down further.

Anger pulsed through Annabeth. Her vision tunnelled on Rachel and the fat tears streaming down her face. She crawled closer, ignoring how silent the people around her had gone. "If you don't tell me where you learned this song Rachel, I swear I'm going to something I'll regret. Don't pretend like you're some mental girl looking for pity. I know what you are."

"Annabeth!"

Someone grabbed the back of Annabeth's shirt and yanked her away from Rachel. Annabeth stumbled, her leg braces digging into her knees. She gasped in pain, her legs knocking into themselves and completely failing. Annabeth fell to the ground but the person who pulled her off Rachel went on dragging her to some secluded corner of the school.

Annabeth stood up slowly, spinning around to see who it was. Thalia was a starved animal behind Annabeth. Her lips were twisted into some cruel shape, and her electric blue eyes were filled with disgust.

"There's something wrong with you, Chase," Thalia spat on the ground. "First, you walk into a genie lair. Then, you willingly steal someone else's genie lamp and keep it for a week. Now, you're demanding Rachel answer you. Rachel. An insane girl who can barely think for herself. When will you learn?"

Annabeth's mouth dropped open.

Thalia slammed Annabeth into the rock wall behind her. For a second, Annabeth saw stars before she registered Thalia's hand around her neck. Annabeth coughed, fighting for air.

"You stay away from Rachel," Thalia hissed. "You hear me? Stay away. Or I'll show you what happens to people who cross me."

Annabeth nodded, clawing at her throat. Thalia let go of Annabeth and she slumped down, sucking in every oxygen molecule around her. She coughed into her hand, alarmed at the small droplets of red on her palm.

Annabeth sneered. "You bitch."

"Me?" Thalia scoffed. "You were practically tearing into that poor girl. She'll be the first one dead. Let her enjoy the life she has left."

"Well, seeing how I'm surrounded by genies in this school, with one following me everywhere I go, I beg to differ."

"I'm not a genie."

"You work with Luke. He wants me dead. His spy probably told him I left Percy at home so I have no one to save me."

Thalia scowled. "I'm not a fucking genie."

"Could have fooled me. Kill me already. What are you waiting for? Why the game?"

Thalia knelt down to where Annabeth was crumbled on the ground. "I'm a human. All I want right now is to survive this, which is exactly what you want too. So you stay out of my way. I'll stay out of your way."

"Survive what? All I want is to help my genie out of his lamp. Everywhere I go, there are genies popping up. They all want me dead. Yay. What did I do to have a bounty on my head?"

Thalia stared at her. "You're human. That's all genies want, these days, to kill us."

"But I'm trying to _help _my genie. I'm on the genies side. Not the human side of this mess."

"There is no human side."

"Can you seriously stop talking in riddles? I think I'll go crazy if I don't get some answers."

Thalia gritted her teeth. She grabbed Annabeth's arm and hoisted her up. Annabeth stiffened at Thalia steadying her from falling. Thalia turned to leave but Annabeth cried out before she turned away completely.

"Please," Annabeth said. "I have some questions. I can't ask my genie. He doesn't have a clue what's going on. Luke… he wants me dead. There's a genie lady following me everywhere and I'm scared out of my wits. I wanted answers from Rachel because my genie sang the same song to me a couple nights ago and claimed no one else knew the song. Help me. Please."

Thalia stood still for a moment, glaring at Annabeth. Then, her gaze softened. "You don't actually know about the rebellion."

Annabeth's breath hitched. "I guessed that genies were rebelling against humans, yeah."

"No," Thalia studied Annabeth. "It's genies rebelling against genies. And we humans are caught in the cross-fire."

"What?"

"I suppose us humans have to stick together through this," Thalia muttered. "Come to my place tonight, Annabeth. You know where I live. And don't, for gods sake, bring your genie with you. I'll tell you everything if you promise to keep that dumb mouth of yours shut. No more outbursts like the one with Rachel."

Annabeth straightened. "I promise."

Thalia muttered at the sky. Without saying bye, Thalia walked away. Back to Rachel, probably.

Annabeth sat there for another twenty minutes. She was still breathing hard, heart beating so fast she worried it would run away. Her chest hurt. It felt like someone had shoved a metal pipe down her throat and she was sitting there, trying to breath all through the pain. She coughed into her hand again, wiping away the blood on her jeans. Still, though, relief flooded through her. Someone was willing to talk to her. Thalia was the last person Annabeth thought she'd get help from, but it was still help no matter who it came from.

"Annie?"

Annabeth lifted her head.

Leo stood in front of her in his crumpled suit. A black and blue shade outlined his right eye as if someone had punched him.

"Leo."

"What happened to you?"

Annabeth pointed at his eye. "What happened to _you_? Did some girl reject you? Thalia?"

"No. I walked into Beckendorf and Silena half-naked in the janitor's closet and apparently they can't take a joke."

Annabeth found the mental image so ridiculous, she laughed. She was coughing up blood, there were bruises on her neck in the shape of Thalia's hands, she was going crazy, and yet, she found the energy to laugh. Leo slid down on the wall next to her as Annabeth's laughs turned into tears and she sobbed into his shoulder.

They ended up skipping next period, and the period after that too. Annabeth spent the time curled up into Leo's side while he told one stupid story after another. Neither of them brought up the genies or even acted like any of that ever happened. She cried, laughed, ranted. Leo cried, laughed, ranted. Really, all Annabeth wanted in that moment was to be safe. Leo gave her that, her best friend, along with his stupid humour and elfish grin.

* * *

**ahh i'm late again :( I really wanted to a "thank you" thing today for all the amazing people encouraging me to keep writing since I've hit a 100 reviews (i love you all) but I have to run 'cause I'm late for my dance recital. So I'll save that long list of "thank you"s next time!**

**Review, Fav, and follow!**

**~Ami**

**P.S:**

**kingmicheal: Actually that would be kinda cool! Idk if I'm going to do that in this story but you'll just have to wait and see! :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own the PJO characters**

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

* * *

Percy didn't like that Annabeth was leaving late at night. He sat on her bed, biting his lip as she went around her room, looking for a small satchel to take.

"There's a genie outside following your every step," Percy said. "What if the genie attacks? You don't know how to defend yourself against that. I do."

Annabeth closed her closet shut. She gazed out the window behind Percy, spotting the same genie woman standing outside. Her eyes flickered to Percy who stood from the bed. He neared her, and she subconsciously pushed herself against the closet door behind her. Annabeth met his eyes. They were a darker green than what she remembered before.

"I don't like it," Percy said. "I don't know what I'd do if you get captured or something."

"I go to school every day without you."

"Not when it's dark. Genies like the dark. They can blend in."

Annabeth pushed him away from her gently. "I'll be fine, Percy. I know how to take care of myself."

Percy slumped. He was tall enough to wrap his arms around Annabeth and awkwardly bend his neck to bury his face in her mess of blonde curls. Offhandedly, Annabeth wondered how long it had been that she tied her hair up in a ponytail. She hadn't put her hair in a bun since Percy told her she looked like a cauliflower.

Annabeth went along with Percy's embrace, accidentally dropping her satchel on the ground. He wasn't acting like himself and it was making her skin crawl. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"No," Percy said without mumbling. He tightened his grip around her midsection. "No. Nothing. I just don't want to lose you. Not because you're the way out of my lamp, but because you're the best thing to ever happen to me."

"I'm just going to a friend's house, Percy. I'll be back before it's too late. My dad is driving me too and fro. It's not a big deal."

"I know."

"Then what's all this?"

Percy stiffened. He backed away. "Nothing."

Annabeth bent to pick her satchel from where it fell on the ground. She glanced at Percy once before leaving her room. Every time she left Percy in her room alone, she felt a sinking sensation in her chest. Annabeth wondered how it felt like being captive for three years by the authorities before getting stuffed in a lamp and sent to live in some seventeen-year-old's bedroom. Percy didn't deserve all that. Maybe some genies did: Luke was a raging gorilla. But not Percy. Percy was too sweet for a life in captivity.

**aoaoaoaoaoaoa**

Frederick wasn't a particularly tall or short man. Annabeth had Athena's blonde hair but her narrow face and small forehead all came from her dad. Moments like these were rare: Annabeth sitting in a car with no one but her dad. Frederick was almost always off on some business trip, or working late at the university he worked at. Out of Annabeth's three parents, Helen was ironically the only one Annabeth felt she could confide in.

So imagine Annabeth's surprise when her dad suddenly tells her he talked to her school teachers.

"Excuse me?" Annabeth demanded. She sat up further, the seatbelt grazing her chin. "You talked to my teachers?"

"Do you know how long you spend in your room these days? I barely got to see you before, but now you're invisible."

Annabeth scowled. "Nice, Dad. You think I'm invisible."

"I'm not an idiot, Annabeth. I know you spend your days talking to your genie. It's dangerous, you know, thinking that your genie can solve all your problems for you. Wishes are a stupid concept."

"Just because your genie was an asshole, doesn't mean mine is. Besides, I'm usually working. I have a lot work to do for school."

"Your teachers say you haven't been doing your homework."

Annabeth gaped, almost imperceptibly. She had been so caught up recently with the whole genie following her and wondering when Luke was going to show up that she had been neglecting school. But could she blame herself? At the end, Annabeth was only doing the moral thing by helping Percy. Everything with Luke trying to kill her wasn't intentional.

"You're tired all the time."

_Of course_, she wanted to scream. She's plagued with nightmares all night; Annabeth gets a maximum of four hours on a good night. She was under constant stress seeing the genie following her and the fear was becoming extremely suffocating.

"And your grades are dropping like potato sacks."

"Dad," Annabeth snapped. "Thanks for telling me all this. But you really don't know what's going on with my life. I've got a lot on my plate and you haven't been there for me so you don't exactly have a say."

Her dad turned onto Thalia's street. He remained silent for a good few minutes as they passed the numerous houses alongside built identical to each other. Then, he said, "I've talked to Athena and I agree that maybe living here is hurting your academic performance at school. You're forgetting what's important. We've decided that instead of at the end of the month, you should move in to Athena's penthouse as soon as possible. I'm talking next week."

Annabeth's mouth dropped open. "Dad! What the hell? You know how she treats me!"

"Maybe you need a little discipline in your life, Annabeth."

"What will Helen say?"

Her dad only stopped the car by Thalia's front yard. Her house was bigger than Annabeth's. She had a car in a garage next to the front yard with perfectly trimmed hedges and gorgeous holiday decorations. It was the beginning of December now, and while Annabeth's family didn't start decorating for Christmas until much later, most people had already started hanging wreaths outside their doors.

Lightheaded, Annabeth opened the door and stepped onto the pavement outside. She stood in one spot, staring at the car retracting in the distance. Her eyes burned. She thought Frederick was on her side. It was so unfair; Annabeth couldn't do anything to fight back. She wasn't sure what propelled her do it, but Annabeth opened her mouth and let out a scream. She yelled into the silence around her, completely disregarding the houses up and down the streets. Annabeth pulled at her hair, cursing so loudly that a second longer, someone would call the police.

"Annabeth."

Annabeth whirled around to face Thalia. She angrily flung a blonde curl out of her eye before grabbing a fistful of her satchel straps and marching to Thalia's front door.

"Nice company you got," Thalia said, jutting her chin out behind Annabeth.

Annabeth glanced back to see the same genie woman as before standing across the street. A cold draft spiralled up her body, and she dived through Thalia's doorway. Thalia pushed the door shut.

"She's still following me," Annabeth muttered, open-mouthed. "How'd she get here so quickly?"

Thalia only raised an eyebrow. She was barefoot, wearing a dark shirt and leggings. Her face was bare of any make up. Annabeth had never seen Thalia in such a domestic setting, and she almost looked harmless. But then Annabeth remembered Thalia during her gym competitions and when she lashed out at Rachel.

Annabeth swallowed her nerves, fiddling with the ends of her shirt. Her emotions were a mess. "Do you know who that genie is?"

"One of Luke's slaves," Thalia shrugged.

"What?"

"Luke. He's my genie. Well, he _was _my genie until he got out."

Annabeth gave her an incredulous look.

"I know. It sounds ridiculous. Truth is, six, seven months ago, I got Luke in a lamp. It had been a long time since he had seen his family. Genies usually get captured from their homeland around twelve or thirteen. They spend at least three years under training to grant us wishes before we finally receive their lamps."

"How'd he get out?"

Thalia shrugged. "I don't actually know his end of the story. He wanted to escape his lamp, like your genie does, and I helped him do just that. Genies return to their homeland when you make your nine wishes. And yeah, back at their home, genies can't escape to our world. But there's a portal that runs from our world to theirs. The key to opening that portal is only found in our world. So long story short, Luke and I found whatever opens the portal to him. I made my ninth wish, and said goodbye. A month later, he showed up at my doorstep."

"He escaped his homeland."

"Yeah. He escaped."

Thalia led Annabeth into the living room where the television was playing in the background. Annabeth slumped into the cushions, consciously sitting rigid. Thalia curled up with cushion between her legs.

"I'm just trying to get my genie out, too, Thalia," Annabeth said. "Why does Luke want me dead?"

"I think it's more to do with _who _your genie is. His name… Percy Jackson if I'm not wrong?"

"No."

"He and Luke have history. Luke's free genie friends are who helped Luke find the key to escaping the genie homeland. But Percy… Percy doesn't have a good relationship with those genies."

"Like what history?"

"Look. I don't know everything. Ever since Luke got out of his lamp, he tells me less and less about what's going on. I know there's a rebellion among genies. The genie homeland used to be a monarchy but some government-like Council was set up there to democratise it. But old royal bloodlines want the monarchy back. Us humans are simply caught in crossfire of their riots."

"King?"

Thalia nodded. "Or Queen, whatever. Luke joined one of the rebel groups a long time ago. I think he tried recruiting Percy who refused."

"And how do us humans keep getting genies then?"

"One of the powerful royal bloodlines gives genies to humans as a peace offering of their alliance."

"Oh. I would've thought the humans would ally with the government-like Council of genies you're talking about. I mean, our world used to be a monarchy. Shouldn't our leaders be sympathetic to the Council's cause?"

"Not if the royal bloodline happens to be stronger. They're the front runners in the riot." Thalia leaned forward towards the coffee table next to the couch. She uncovered a bowl and revealed dumplings sitting inside. "You want one?"

"Yeah. I'm starving. Thanks."

"Don't be too thankful. They're leftovers from yesterday."

"Leftovers?"

Thalia bobbed her head. "I ordered in Chinese yesterday. I usually end up eating alone so I always have leftovers the next day. Of course, once in a while, Luke drops in. We're still friends."

Annabeth sunk her teeth into the dumplings, watching as Thalia's focus shifted to her phone screen. Someone was texting Thalia. Thalia hurriedly turned the phone over so Annabeth couldn't see the screen. Her eyes became hard when she noticed Annabeth staring.

"Say my genie, Percy, wants to return to our world even after I make my ninth wish. How does the portal between the genie homeland and our world open?"

Thalia swallowed a dumpling. "Actually, Annabeth, I wouldn't be sure you want to let your genie free in our world. You know what Luke is doing. You know how reckless and murderous he's become. When he was in my lamp, he was the sweetest thing on this planet. Going back to his homeland changed him. Or perhaps it was his friends, I don't know."

"Just tell me how, Thalia. I'll deal with the rest."

"I can't. From what Luke told me, the portal responds to each genie differently. Some genies have to eat something to get through. Other genies have to take a physical object with them."

"What was it for Luke?"

"A caduceus from the Greek museum nearby Something in connection to Hermes, I think?"

Annabeth glanced outside the window and she caught sight of the same genie woman as before. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "If you're so close to Luke, tell him to call off the genie he has trailing me everywhere."

"He doesn't listen to me anymore."

"Right."

"He doesn't. I've been trying to clean up his messes ever since he came into our world."

Annabeth scoffed. "So Rachel is another one of his messes? He took a random genie from our school and drove her insane?"

"Rachel?" Thalia shook her head. "No. Rachel is human." She paused. "Her story is actually quite tragic."

"Please. Spare me the tears."

Thalia scowled. "Quit it with your smart-aleck responses. I'm not the one who has you so riled up."

"Sorry."

"The rule book, Annabeth, isn't wrong. Those rules are laid out in case anyone gets an incredibly erratic genie. Most of us get normal genies, so no, they don't enforce most rules in the book. But some rules apply to _all_ genies whether or not they are crazy from the beginning. Rachel broke the most important rule in the book."

Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows. Her eyes widened remembering the underlined, bolded, italic, capitalised last rule: don't fall in love with your genie. Immediately, there's a heavy sensation in her heart. "Rachel fell in love with her genie… and that drove her crazy?"

"Yeah. Genies have a way with human emotion. Especially love. When Rachel fell in love with her genie, her genie found a way to infiltrate her mind. Sometimes, Rachel talks like she's a genie because her memories have melded into her genie's."

"That's… so sad."

"Yeah. It is. Luke is curious to who her genie is. He has her eyes set on Rachel the way this woman outside my window follows you everywhere. That's why I've been sticking to Rachel recently. That girl doesn't deserve more tragedy."

Annabeth glanced at her tangled fingers. Percy flashed in her head and suddenly she was on red alert. She wasn't sure to what extent Percy was genuinely or jokingly flirting with her, but their dynamic had been shifting in the past few days. He baked her cookies the other day and said something about getting to her heart. Was Percy was trying to infiltrate in _her _mind?

Her eyes burned. God, she trusted Percy with her life. Was she making a mistake?

Annabeth muttered, "I wish it was someone else who got Percy's lamp."

"Me, too. Luke's been driving me insane. Fucking genies."

"Fucking genies."

Thalia and Annabeth exchanged a small smile. Annabeth broke out into a grin, chuckling, when she saw Thalia inhale a dumpling and have to cough it back out.

"My mom is making me go to this luncheon where she said you'd be."

Thalia nodded. "Yeah. Next week. My biological dad is making me go, but I'm not too thrilled. He wants to groom me to take over his company some day, but I just tell him to stick it all up his ass. He doesn't take too kindly to that."

Annabeth relaxed into the couch. It felt good to laugh, whether it was with Leo or Thalia, amidst the constant fear she was in. She wondered how Leo would react knowing Annabeth was sitting in his crush's house. "It's nice to know I'll have a friend there for the luncheon, though."

"Don't take this meeting the wrong way," Thalia said. She reached over the bowl of dumplings to pick up a glass of wine. Annabeth's forehead furrowed, tracking the movement of the cup to Thalia's lips. Thalia wiped her mouth but the red stain remained. "We're not friends. I simply pitied you as someone else stuck in the same situation I was in months ago. I don't know you. You don't know me."

Annabeth's smile dropped.

"But even my pity comes with a price."

"What?"

Thalia gave her a slick smile. A true, genuine smile that made Thalia's earlier grins seem fake. "Well, Annie, there's something I want in return. I gave you information. Now you've got to do something for me."

* * *

**sorry. genuinely got busy with university applications :(**

**i hope you liked that though.**

**~Ami**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own the pjo characters**

**RECAP:**

**\- Percy wants to escape his lamp**

**\- Thalia tells Annabeth that Rachel had been driven mad because she fell in love with her genie**

**\- There's a portal in genie world that Percy can take to escape his homeland and be free from his lamp but he needs to find the key to opening that portal in Annabeth's world first**

**\- Annabeth has to move into Athena's place next week**

* * *

Chapter Sixteen

* * *

Annabeth used to want to be a dancer.

She used to go to weekly ballet lessons with her adorable tutu and pointe shoes. Athena would be there to pick her up after every lesson. Then in the car, Annabeth scuttled up to the stereo, and with her pudgy fingers, put on the music she learned a dance to that day. Music and dance, Annabeth realised, was her drug. She saw people getting high on cocaine and watched drunkards run for another bottle. For her, music lifted her higher up than the clouds could ever go.

Then, came the divorce. It was a surprisingly smooth process. Athena wanted a career; she took off as soon as possible. Annabeth was left with her dad who could no longer take her to ballet classes. Too expensive. Took too much time. It didn't matter how long Annabeth cried. If, that day, Annabeth had her own genie, she would've made a wish. A wish to get to dance in that small studio again.

Frederick met Helen on a small roadside hut while lugging Annabeth on one of his business trips. She was barely seven when they got married and she was dressed head to toe in pink to stand by as the flower girl. Annabeth cried that day, too. Because her mother, Athena, hadn't attended the wedding. Annabeth put a candle on a cupcake and miserably blew out a wish: one where Athena would be a real mother to her just like she was when Annabeth was younger.

When Matthew and Bobby were born, Annabeth was at her lowest. Leo wasn't, reputation wise, the best company to be around. Their friendship at that point was a shaky road. A small, insecure part of her wondered why she wasn't better friends with Piper. Or Katie. Or even Thalia who almost everyone at this school loved. Maybe it was how she looked. Annabeth sat in front of the mirror one day, drawing out all the changes she'd make on herself with a marker. It was then that she made a promise for her next few wishes: her hair, her eyes. And most of all: her confidence.

Annabeth had her genie now. She had Percy in a lamp with seven more wishes to make. But strangely, despite all wishes she wanted to make before meeting Percy, Annabeth had no urge to make any official wishes now.

It was all a game to keep them contained, she realised. The wishes genies granted weren't wishes at all. They were illusions of safety and hope in a world where neither belonged.

**aoaoaoaoaoaoao**

Annabeth got a ride from Helen that took her back home from Thalia's. She went straight to her room, glancing at Percy's lamp on her bedside table, before diving into the shower. The water was warm but there were cold shivers going up and down her legs. It was as if she had taken a bath in a tub full of ice. Her skin was stinging and her bloodshot eyes watering. She watched water trickling into the drain, imagining how it would be to escape like the water was.

She stepped into her bedroom and slowly pulled on a pair of sweatpants and loose shirt. Yellow light reflected off of Percy's lamp, making it look almost silver rather than blue. Annabeth curled up on the bed, finger tracing the edge of the lamp. In her head, Thalia's voice was on replay, pulling Annabeth's mood down into the ground.

"Annabeth?"

"Hey, Percy."

"You're back." Smoke blew out of Percy's spout and he appeared by her bedside with a sombrero on his head. Annabeth raised her eyebrows at his hat but didn't comment. Percy collapsed into bed next to her. "You look like absolute death."

"I feel like absolute death." She paused, watching the way he tilted his head upwards on the pillow. "While I was out, I learned some things."

"Oh?"

Annabeth trailed off, watching Percy's fingers spark. He was doing something she couldn't understand. Everywhere his fingers went, he left a trail of sparkles in his wake. Percy was drawing in the air. He noticed her eyes trained on his air-drawings and spun his fingers around faster. Annabeth followed the path of sparkles like a child watching the fireworks for the first time.

"You're a genie," Annabeth said. She sat up, her thigh pressing Percy's side. There was a dubious tingling in her chest of innocent excitement. With everything happening: Thalia's strange request, moving in with Athena, and the constant fear of being followed, no one could blame Annabeth for wanting a bit of fun.

"Yeah, I'm a genie. We established that the day we met."

"Give me a magic show."

Percy was stunned. "What?"

"A magic show."

A small smile flickered at the ends of his mouth. "Damn, sweetheart. I didn't know you were such a child. A show with bunnies and top hats?"

"Put on a suit," Annabeth suggested. "But leave out the bunnies and top hats. I want a full blown magic show with sparkles and flying unicorns around my head."

Percy snapped his fingers and instantly he was wearing a suit, all decked out in a black coat and dress shoes. He grinned at her as fireworks went off around his head in the air. Percy offered her his hand and Annabeth took it without hesitation.

Wind whistled in Annabeth's ears and she opened her eyes to see the gorgeous living room inside Percy's lamp. She craned her head, looking for Percy around her but all she saw was his dog drooling on the carpet. His living room was a little different from when Annabeth was last there. This time, there was more gold than red and the lights were a dull yellow. Blackjack suddenly yipped from the ground. Annabeth bent to pick him up and the dog settled into her lap without complaint.

"Percy?" Annabeth frowned. "Where are you?"

Instantly, the entire scene around Annabeth melted. She gasped and her stomach lurched as if she was on a rollercoaster. She clung onto the couch and accidentally squeezed Blackjack's leg reaching for something to hold. Blackjack simply huffed and dove deeper into the folds of her legs.

Then, the couch disappeared and Annabeth was free falling with Blackjack perched in her arms. She screamed as she fell, wildly searching for Percy. The scene around her turned into the night sky with stars sparkling all around her and clouds below her. Air blew her curls all over her face; the ends of her hair stung her numb face.

"Geez," Percy's voice came from nearby.

Annabeth whipped around in midair to see him floating in the air next to her.

"Keep your screaming to a minimum," Percy told her. He leaned forward to brush Blackjack's fur. The dog whined. "It's just an illusion."

Percy disappeared, and in his place appeared an owl. Annabeth's mouth dropped open. She glided forward easily and the owl passed over her head. She saw a dragon underneath her with its wings spanning over three times her size. Then there was the moon that felt so close that she actually reached out to see if she could feel it. Instead, Annabeth fell faster. She passed the dragon that blew a smoke ring at her. When the smoke cleared, she was had fallen past the clouds. Below her, the city lay in its twinkling magnificence. It was coming closer and closer as she fell faster.

"Isn't this cool?"

Annabeth spun in midair. The wind made it hard for her to hear Percy but she could see him just fine. "How are you doing this?"

"A little trick Jason taught me when you were at school."

Percy reached forward and grabbed her by the waist. Annabeth leaned back to give Blackjack, who was bouncing around between them, space. Blackjack disappeared in midair and Annabeth yelped in surprise.

"Ow," Percy muttered. His voice trailed off in the thundering wind around them. "You're poking me in the ribs."

"What happened to Blackjack?"

"He's fine. Relax. You asked for a magic show. Let yourself enjoy this."

Percy flipped her around, and suddenly Annabeth was soaring over the city line. She could feel Percy's chest muscles against her back, and her arms tight around her waist. Annabeth's arms dangled in the air. She wondered if the all the people and city night life underneath them was a reflection of real life, or something Percy made up. They zoomed past the buildings.

Near the edge of Annabeth's vision, she saw buildings turn into the ocean. She closed her eyes and within seconds, she felt droplets on her face. Annabeth opened her mouth momentarily and immediately spit out salty water lapping her face. Percy did a little flip in the air and then dived headfirst under the ocean surface. Once again, Annabeth's entire world went flat seeing whatever illusions he was bringing up in front of her eyes.

Somewhere along the way, they left the ocean. Annabeth was aware of trees around them, crickets chirping, and leaves crunching, but she was far from paying attention to the illusion anymore. She was opening staring at Percy above her who was cluelessly humming. Annabeth closed her eyes to relax with the breeze, pushing herself closer to his chest and following his own arms around her waist.

Percy glanced down at her. He smiled. Annabeth returned it.

Suddenly Percy lost control. He disappeared momentarily before flashing back in front of Annabeth. Annabeth, without Percy there, fell to the ground. She couldn't figure out how the world around her was physical if it was an illusion. Her vision went pitch black for a second, panic rising in her clogged voice. Then Percy was in front of her, standing with his eyes wide and mouth open.

Annabeth stood. She stumbled forward and grabbed Percy's arm to snap him back into reality. "Percy?"

Her eyes adjusted. Annabeth and Percy were standing in the middle of a cavern-like area with its ceiling stretching so far above them Annabeth couldn't see where it ended. There were little structures like homes of half-slanted roofs littering one side of the path and a fence on the other side. There were even light posts on the path and decaying bushes. Annabeth bent to touch the ground. It wasn't rock. It was some strange black, ash-like material that rubbed off black on her fingers.

The entire cavern looked like a terrifying, black-grey universe of the world Annabeth was used to.

"Where are we?" Annabeth asked Percy.

He was still in awe.

"Percy. Snap out of it. Where is this place? Are we even in your lamp anymore?"

Percy's hand shot out and grabbed hers and in the dull light of a nearby lamp post, he looked scared. "I think that magic show illusion I was doing for you triggered buried memories. Although, I can't see any people here… or the guards?"

"What?"

"Annabeth," he breathed out. "This… this is my home."

**aoaoaoaoaoaoao**

Percy pulled her out of the illusion immediately. He collapsed on the couch which Annabeth was somehow already sitting on.

Annabeth's heart was running. The illusion was so realistic, she still hadn't recovered at seeing Percy's living room. She breathed out forcefully, reaching forward to gently brush his shoulder. "Percy? Did you say that was your genie homeland?"

"Yeah," Percy shuddered. "It didn't feel the same, though. It's different imagining it without any people there."

"It's like a ghost town version of my world," Annabeth said. Despite the fear stitched through Percy's eyes, she couldn't help the excitement clambering up her chest. "Percy, woah, that's… that's…."

"Not the whole picture."

Annabeth tilted her head in confusion.

"That wasn't the whole picture. It was one snapshot of where I come from." His features scrunched together in frustration. "I can't seem to remember anything else. I don't know how that image popped up. God, I feel like a fucking idiot. All I do it sit in this damned lamp while you're out there risking your life for me. It's ridiculous."

On the ground, Blackjack whined. He curled up on the ground and two paws came out of the fluff ball of his body to cover his ears.

"You know, Percy, there was something I wanted to tell you before I asked for that magic show. We may not have to risk our lives ever again. We're coming to an end." Annabeth relayed her conversation with Thalia. She left out Rachel and the strange request Thalia had the end; Annabeth wasn't sure how she'd go on to explain those things to Percy without making him feel like villain.

Percy's breathing went ragged by the end. They were both sitting on his couch, but he seemed closer than before when Annabeth finally finished. He was gaping, almost imperceptibly.

"And something good came out. Can you believe it? We just have to find what your key to opening the portal is. Thalia said you'd know what is just by touching it. It may take some time experimenting. Years, maybe. But at the end, I'll make sure you get out of this wretched lamp."

Percy openly stared at her. His green eyes were wide. "Could it be a person?"

"What?"

"The thing that forces the portal to open to me. Could it be a person?"

"I don't know." Annabeth trailed off seeing his expression. Chills seeped through her body. It felt like Percy could see right through her and find all the little details she neglected telling him. "Percy? Are you okay?"

"I'm sorry. I'm a mess. I haven't been able to help you in any way."

Annabeth leaned forward, dropping her chin on his shoulder despite her brain telling her not to. He stiffened under her touch. "You know, I'm a mess too. My grades at school are dropping. I've made more enemies in the past few months than I can count, and I'm scared out of my wits every second of the day. But somehow, it's the most alive I've ever felt."

This time, Percy completely his body to face her. He hesitated before his arms wrapped themselves around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Annabeth gasped, trying to get on her knees on the couch only to fall further into his arms. She froze, her lips only a few centimetres away from his. A part of her went into panic mode.

"I'm going to try something. If you want me to stop, tell me now."

Annabeth couldn't form the words to make him stop. He was watching her expectantly, waiting for a signal. Technically, Rachel's genie infiltrated her mind because Rachel was in love with her genie. Annabeth wasn't in love with Percy. So, she supposed, it didn't matter if she kissed him just once. Just to know how it felt.

Annabeth put her arms around Percy's neck. She firmly planted her lips on his, smiling when she felt him responding enthusiastically. Her hands went down his muscled chest as he hooked her one leg and flung it over his lap. She pasted her chest against his before lightly retracting.

Percy's eyes were half-closed. "Hell, darling. Did that just happen? Don't tell me it was out of pity."

"I would've thought you were far more arrogant. After all, don't you think that genies are irresistible? I should've seen through all that crap spouting from your mouth the first time we met."

"Only you'd insulting someone after kissing them like that." Percy smirked into her neck. "You know, in the privacy of my lamp, we can do a lot more than kissing."

Annabeth met his eyes. Something foreign bubbled in her stomach, followed by a wave of regret and guilt. She _would _be a fool to say her feelings around Percy had been changing. Of course, Percy was attractive and strangely alluring. His smart aleck responses were addicting. Percy genuinely cared, or at least acted like he did, about Annabeth. Who else stood by Annabeth when Athena slapped her? Percy was a lot more caring than he led her on initially. Both Thalia and Leo picked up on Annabeth's growing feelings for him, and she couldn't ignore it any longer. Her throat closed up. She shouldn't have kissed Percy; she had to hold those feelings to bay for as long as she could.

"Hey, darling?"

"Hm?"

Percy pressed his lips to her temple. "I don't know what we are. I don't know if we're forbidden lovers now or what. But I do know that you're the absolute best thing to ever happen to me. I can't ever repay you for what you've done for me."

Annabeth faltered. How was she supposed to answer that? She shifted uncomfortably in his lap, but thankfully Percy wasn't waiting for answer. In the distance, she heard Helen's voice and Annabeth knew she had to leave. Percy gave her one last genuine smile before his fingers sparked and sent her outside the lamp.

* * *

**I really shouldn't make any promises anymore :( I'm sorry :(**

**although, on another note, happy new year!**

**Leave me a review?**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I don't own pjo characters**

**RECAP: **

**\- Percy & Annabeth kissed in the last chapter**

**\- Annabeth is scared of going into a relationship with Percy because Rachel's genie infiltrated her mind when Rachel fell in love with them. Annabeth is scared Percy will be able to infiltrate her mind too**

* * *

Chapter Seventeen

* * *

The course smell of cardboard hung in the air. It tickled Annabeth's nose and kept her sneezing all day. There were boxes littering almost every inch of her floor, and Annabeth had to resort to jumping over them to get from one side of the room to the other. Her jeans proved that to be difficult so she changed into a loose T-shirt that fell mid-thigh with her hair pulled back in a high pony tail. A speaker sitting on her bedside table was blaring song after song as she packed the contents of her room into each separate box. Eventually, she started stacking boxes on top of each other.

It took three hours to get through her closet alone. There were clothes, books, and stationary tossed inside carelessly. As she packed, it suddenly felt so surreal that she was leaving her dad's home and going to Athena's place. Her dad and Helen had been her family for so long that Annabeth couldn't fathom living somewhere else.

Then again, Annabeth was off to university soon anyway.

Someone knocked on the door, and a familiar head full of curls poked in.

"Hey! Did you bring my pizza?"

Leo nodded, lifting a box of pizza. Annabeth's family were out for some school play her brothers were part of. They left her to pack on her own, so Annabeth did the next best thing and called Leo over to keep her company.

"This room is incredibly messy," Leo noted as Annabeth flipped open the pizza box and plopped onto the ground. "It's messier than my room and that's saying a lot."

"I know. The last time I helped you clean your room, we found an entire arsenal of minion boxers underneath your bed. At least I have basic hygiene."

Leo flicked her shoulder. "I don't do that anymore. All my underwear is neatly hung up on hangers inside my closet. Each one has its own special spot."

"Wonderful," Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I have to clean all this tomorrow before Athena comes over to help me move. I can't be messy with Athena else she'll have on a silver platter. Worse than that, I don't think we can even meet as often as we do. No more hanging out at your dad's mechanic store or at the mall. Athena wants me to breed me into who she is."

"An asshole with sexy long legs?"

"…not exactly what I was thinking."

Leo sighed. "But we're still going to the Christmas Ball together, right? It's three weeks away."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

They fall into a silence after that and the only sound bouncing off of Annabeth's bare walls is their teeth sinking into pizza. Eventually, they opened her laptop to watch a movie with the lights turned down. They were swaddled in blankets and pillows; Annabeth was curling into Leo's warm chest and she could hear him breathing down her neck from behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Leo's genie lamp poking out of the bag he brought along.

"Hey, Annabeth?"

"Yeah?"

"I made my second wish."

She faltered.

"It was the day we were at your place and met Jason and Percy. That night, I went back home to Hazel and wished to be fearless. Well, at first I tried bravery but it turns out wishing for bravery specifically has a lot of conditions attached to it. So I thought, why not wish to be fearless?"

Annabeth gasped. "Leo… you don't know what the repercussions of making a wish like that are. It could change your behaviour indefinitely. It's a pretty big wish."

"It's been two weeks and I'm completely fine. Besides, being fearless doesn't make me brave. It doesn't make me irrational. It just gets rid of all that paranoia I had building up. I guess that's why I'm no longer terrified out of my wits that you've been secretly falling for your genie."

Annabeth didn't even bother arguing. Her face burned remembering Percy's lips against hers that night. She spent the entire night tossing in bed, fingers ghosting her mouth where his touch on her felt permanently embossed. It had been an entire week since they kissed, and they barely exchanged a few words since. It was so awkward Annabeth couldn't look Percy in the eye. Wisely, she didn't comment on Percy. "Do you feel anything else?"

He tapped her wooden bedpost. "No. Not really. But the fearlessness does kick in once in a while. I think that's why I genuinely asked someone out for the Christmas Ball the other day."

Annabeth did a double take. "You did what? I thought you had a thing for Thalia?"

"It wasn't because I actually liked them," Leo said, a small smile gracing his features. "My heart belongs solely to Thalia. I was just testing out the whole fearless wish before I tried it on Thalia."

"Did the girl say yes?"

"She was already going with someone else."

"Who was it you asked?"

Leo went pink. "You're going to laugh. I just thought I'd try her because it would be the least awkward if she rejected me."

"Who?"

"…Piper."

Annabeth's jaw dropped open. "Who the hell is Piper going with?"

"Frank, apparently."

"You're fucking with me."

"Nah. I've offered being friends with benefits before, though. Is that you finally agreeing?" He wiggled his eyebrows, and Annabeth punched his shoulder.

"Piper and Frank? There is absolutely no way they're going to last. Oh my god, Frank's genie has a thing for Piper. It's going to be so awkward for poor Jason."

"That's messed up," Leo said in a low whistle. "It's been so long since I helped you steal Frank's genie lamp that I completely forgot about Jason. But do you know if Thalia has a date? I'm planning to ask her out. Not the goofy way, but the serious way. I'm going to do it right this time. No more jokes."

_I talked to Thalia, _Annabeth wanted to say. _She's nothing like the kind girl you think of her as. And now she wants me to do her dirty work that I've been pushing away the entire week._

Annabeth laid back down as Leo's attention turned to the movie. Their empty pizza box was laying on the ground and crumbs littered her wooden flooring; a thick waft of tomato reached her nose. When she moved to Athena's place, pizza was going to become a luxury. Everyday it was going to be eating oatmeal and kale salads to accommodate to Athena's ridiculously healthy diet.

Another terrifying thought struck her. Athena hated genies. That woman never even made a single wish. Athena's poor genie was left in Athena's safe somewhere in her humongous penthouse. Annabeth will be broken if Athena ever took Percy away. And she was going to be here at exactly six in the morning; six hours from midnight right now. Then there was that whole issue of Rachel and her genie that made Annabeth so nervous to talk to Percy.

That's it. Annabeth had to talk to Percy before Athena got here in the morning.

Annabeth stood. "Give me a second, Leo. I need to go talk to Percy real quick."

Leo hummed in response, eyes trained on the screen.

Cold air prickled Annabeth's skin as she stripped the blankets off her legs and made her way to Percy's lamp on her desk. He was probably sleeping, but as soon as her fingers touched the cool metal, she felt something warm against her thumb. Glancing at Leo sprawled on her bed, Annabeth took Percy's lamp to the bathroom.

"Percy?" She pulled the bathroom door closed with her foot. "Hey, can we talk?"

The lamp shivered, and then Percy sprung out. He was shirtless with a loose pair of pyjama pants that left Annabeth blushing slightly. Percy's hair was all over the place, sticking up like static electricity had touched him. He yawned.

"What are you doing awake, princess? It's midnight."

"I wanted to talk to you. About my mom, Athena."

"I get it. She hates genies. There's a chance she'll try to keep us apart."

Annabeth played with the hem of her shirt. "Don't try to get my attention from your lamp tomorrow. I'll be hiding your lamp until I unpack and settle my new room. I hope she doesn't ask about you. Otherwise, there's something else I wanted to talk to you about. We can't do this anymore."

Percy tilted his head. "Do what?"

"This," Annabeth motioned to both of them. "We've been pretending that last week never happened. We haven't had a single conversation since then."

"I'm not pretending. You are. You're the one who came forward and kissed me. I was giving you a chance to say no. Besides, I don't understand what the problem is. No one is going to know about us unless you tell them. Bottom line, we've fallen for each other. It doesn't matter if we're genie and human."

"Percy, the only reason you've fallen for me is because I'm the only person you talk to. If you knew anybody else, you wouldn't say all the things you say to me."

Percy's eyes went dark. Anger sparked off his fingers in red shimmers. Annabeth took a step back, taken back by the sudden wave of frustration he radiated. She shivered. Percy said, "So you're going to completely hide the fact that you've fallen for me too? I'm not going to pretend as if I haven't thought of us together romantically. You've thought about us as well."

"It doesn't matter. We can't be together. We're friends. I made a promise that I'll get you out of my lamp and I'm going to fulfil that promise as a friend."

Percy went silent, watching her intently from underneath his dark lashes. His eyes softened. He pushed himself off the bathroom counter and stood straight in front of her. Annabeth didn't move when he grabbed her waist lightly.

"Is someone threatening you? Luke? He hasn't shown his damned face in a while."

"No," Annabeth replied. Her chest cried at the delicate concern stitched through his wide eyes. She wanted to tear her hair out, her emotions were on a flurry again feeling Percy's hands on her. Annabeth wanted him but hated him but needed him but feared him. Why was it so hard? She wished she had never found out about Rachel's genie infiltrating her mind. "This isn't right. Genies and humans shouldn't mix romantically."

Percy wasn't satisfied. "Are you scared about the authorities or Athena finding out? I know I'm tied to this lamp but I'll do everything in my power to protect you."

"No. Drop it, Percy. I don't want to be with you. It was fun while it lasted but I don't want to anymore."

Something else flashed in his eyes. Insecurity. Annabeth deflated. Great.

"Well," Percy muttered. He tore his hands off of her as if she were lava. "If that's how you feel."

Annabeth pursed her lips, nodding lightly. "Thank you." Her voice was shaky and cracking but otherwise, she was good at hiding the tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. It was true; she had never felt this way anyone else before. But of course the one person who made her feel loved and wanted was a forbidden genie.

**aoaoaoaoaoaoaoao**

"What time is it?"

"Almost five-thirty in the morning," Frederick told Annabeth. He was crouching down next to her bed, brushing away her blonde hair sprawled over her face like a curtain. "I know, it's really early. But Athena will be here soon, at six, and you know how strict she is. We've got to make sure you're all packed and ready to go for the moving truck at eight."

Annabeth turned her head away from Frederick. "Yeah, ship me off like some burden cargo."

"You know it isn't like that. You need to be somewhere you can focus on school and not have to listen to your parents worrying about money all the time. Athena can give you that. Besides, we'll keep meeting each other."

"Whatever."

Frederick nudged her shoulder. "Seriously. Wake up. Have you packed and taped all your boxes?"

Annabeth groaned into her pillow. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat up, swaying ever so slightly. Her father sported a wild mess of dishevelled hair on his head. His dark rimmed glasses were at the tip of his nose and he was rubbing his forehead with the back of his hand every few seconds. He got back really late last night so it was no wonder Frederick was tired.

"Boxes?" Frederick shook an empty box in the air. "I told you they had to be ready for the morning."

"I ran out of tape so I gave up."

"Annabeth!"

"_Gods_, I'll just go to the twenty-four hour store down the road to get tape. It'll be done before Athena gets here."

Frederick ripped the sheets off Annabeth's legs. The blast of the cold December air hit her ten fold and she went scrambling to cover her bare legs.

"Helen and I will finish packing. Go get tape from the store. And, please, grow up. I know you're angry at me for sending you off to live with Athena but this tantrum isn't going to get you anywhere. You're almost eighteen."

"I have another seven months to go before I turn eighteen."

"Annabeth, leave. It's five-thirty exactly now and if you don't get back before Athena comes, she's going to get angry."

Frederick left the room and the door shut with a soft click. Annabeth grabbed a fistful of sheets, gritting her teeth. She needed to hit something. Slap someone. There was so much pent up anger clogging up her train of thought that Annabeth was afraid she'd instinctively toss something out the window.

"Calm down."

Annabeth whipped around to see Percy leaning on the wall.

He gave her a look of pure boredom. "You're overreacting. You don't know how damn lucky you are with a mother like Athena. Who knows, you'll flourish under her."

"She's physical! She hits me whenever I make the smallest mistake. You _saw _the bruise. You healed it! How is a mother like that supposed to make me flourish?"

Percy scoffed. "You're going to be living in a penthouse with the fanciest, most luxurious furniture. She'll drag you around parties for networking. Then, she'll make sure you get good grades in school. Next year, you'll be off to some Ivy League and it'll all be because of Athena."

"She wants me to be perfect all the time. I can't do that."

"Boohoo. When you grow up, you'll be inheriting millions of dollars. If you're perfect, won't you be loved more? And, sweetheart, isn't that what your insecure ass is looking for anyway? Perfection?"

Blood rushed to Annabeth's head and her cheeks grew hot. "How _dare _you—"

"Your future is what I wish I could have," Percy snapped at her. "You could've been living in a wasteland in a small hut made of dirt and straw. You could've watched your own dad murdered in front of your eyes because he was trying to buy his family time to run from the rebels attacking the neighbourhood. You could've grown up to be stuffed in a lamp and leashed on it like a dog. You're damn lucky and I'm sick of how thankless you are."

Annabeth faltered. "You said you didn't remember your dad or what happened to him."

"Well I remember now."

"I'm sorry to hear that but it gives you no excuse to take out your anger on me. I know you're angry because I rejected you last night."

Percy shrugged. "Maybe it's coming out a little harsher than I intended because you lead me on and then rejected me. Maybe it's because I just remembered what happened to my dad. But maybe it's also something I've secretly thought since the day we met."

"You're a fucking asshole."

He shot her an arrogant eye roll. Annabeth's vision tinted red and her lip curled. When she spoke again, crawling out of the bed at the same time, her voice came out shrill as if someone were dragging a nail down a blackboard. She caught Percy's eyes drifting lower than her face to her lower-than-normal-neckline nightgown and it only fuelled her frustration.

Frederick's voice interrupted her from downstairs. "Get dressed and go buy the tape!"

Percy smirked. "Up, up, sweetheart. It's time to move into your dear mommy's home. You better go get that tape."

"Percy, I swear, I don't know what's gotten into you but this is downright unfair."

"So you leading me on isn't unfair?"  
"I barely led you on! It was one kiss! Me not talking to this past week should've been enough indication that I regretted that kiss."

"Hardly an innocent kiss the way you were straddling me."

"_What the hell, _you were the one who hinted it first."

The door slammed open and Annabeth came face to face with a horrified Frederick. The blood in her veins completely froze, and Annabeth whipped around to see Percy. To her surprise, he was gone. In his place was a small pile of ash. She turned back to Frederick with a sheepish smile, forcing the anger storming inside her to remain contained.

"Who were you talking to?"

Annabeth's mouth went dry. "Um… just my genie. He was being annoying about a wish I want to make later."

"Don't lie to me," Frederick snapped. "I heard you talking to some boy about kissing him. That wasn't your genie."

Of course. Frederick thought Annabeth was his angelic daughter who would never break any of the genie book rules. A heavy stone settled in her heart. If Frederick knew what Annabeth had been doing since her Coming, he would be heartbroken.

"It was my phone," Annabeth started slowly. "It was on speaker."

"Who was the boy? It wasn't that Luke kid, was it?"

Annabeth shook her head.

Fredrick's eyes scanned the mess of her room. There were several towers of cardboard boxes all around her, but otherwise, nothing else was outside. Annabeth still had yet to stuff her bedsheets into a box. She had to change into leggings and a shirt but everything else was already packed. Her room was cold without the warmth of all her things scattered around. It didn't feel like home anymore without the clutter of books on her desk, or without the organised make up cups she kept on her dressing table.

"We're talking about that boy later. Go get the tape from the store." With a scornful glance, Fredrick turned on his heel and left Annabeth alone once again.

It didn't take long for Annabeth to change her clothes and toss a few last things into a final box. It was nearing six in the morning which means Athena would arrive to see Annabeth gone. Annabeth didn't care anymore. She grabbed some loose change on her desk, hid Percy's lamp before Athena could see him, and kicked the door open to leave.

The weather outside was pleasant. Rays of sun touched her as a cool breeze blew through her messy hair. The trees that lined the route all the way to the store were drooping, signalling how far they'd come from autumn. Leaves crunched underneath Annabeth's sneakers as the store loomed into view.

Being a local entity, the store wasn't very big. Normally, Annabeth and her family didn't shop there but for emergencies like this tape one, the store served its purpose. A group of friends were lingering near the entrance, who scattered when she strode past them to enter. Annabeth made a beeline to the stationary aisle. She spotted the tape instantly, and reached out to grab it.

Another hand appeared out of nowhere, their fingers skimming hers. Annabeth watched, confused, as the stranger's fingers traced the lines on her palm before encapsulating her hand in theirs completely. She lifted her head to meet their eyes.

**aoaoaoaoaoaoao**

"Luke."

"Annabeth," Luke said. "I have to say, it's been a while. One of my genies was tracking you for the past while but it's been too long since you and I met personally."

Annabeth glanced down where his fingers intertwined hers. A flare of cold brushed the back of her neck.

"I thought I might come visit you. To remind you that I'm right here. Waiting."

"For what? You can't touch me, Luke. Not if you want Percy to blow up on you. I'm so used to your genie friend following me everywhere that most times, I forget she's even standing there."

Luke's lip curled. "I don't want to hurt Percy, I'll admit it. I want Percy to fight next to me in this rebellion."

"He doesn't."

"Do you?"

"What?"

Luke stepped in so close Annabeth could see specks of brown in his blue eyes. Her breath caught in her throat and suddenly pikes of ice were digging into her back.

"I said," Luke whispered. "Do you want to join me in this rebellion? It's quite an easy fix to your problem. If you join me, then we'll help Percy get out of his lamp. If you don't join me, then we'll kill you and leave Percy in his lamp forever. That way, Percy won't be hurt."

"He will be emotionally."

"He'll cry for a few days then suck it up. After all, with you dead, where else will he go except stay in his lamp?"

Annabeth clenched her fist. "And if I tell you no?"

Luke shrugged. "Then you can go off for now but expect to see me again sometime soon. Like I said, I've got bigger plans for you. Much bigger plans than killing you on the spot. I want you to experience certain things. Those certain things are quite unpredictable."

"I suppose I should leave the house with a knife now."

Luke gave her a slick grin. He slid one hand into his pocket and came out with a blade twice the length of Annabeth's hand from the tip of her longest finger to the bottom of her palm. He offered it to her. "Here, Annabeth. Why don't I get you that knife for you myself? You're going to need this weapon one day."

"Why?"

"Because, Annabeth, I have bigger plans for you. Experiences. Trust me, they're quite enlightening experiences." Luke opened her palm and dropped the roll of tape into it. Annabeth faltered; she didn't realise when Luke initially took it from her. She watched him turn around a corner before her shoulders slumped. Whether Percy or not should know about this completely blew over her head. There was something else bubbling in her. Relief.

There was one lucky thing moving in with Athena. At least Luke won't know where to find Annabeth. And even if he did know her location, he couldn't reach her at the top floor of the building.

Could silverbane-free genies fly?

* * *

**almost been a month... sorry :( i accidentally told me mom i was posting this story online and she went crazy about getting a copyright 'cause she's a lawyer :( like mums, i'm not even planning on publishing this unless I rewrite/edit the whole thing with significant changes which won't happen for a while. but anyway, she made me wait 'cause the lawyer in her insisted on a copyright for the original storyline (which i still think is kind of over the top lmao but at least she's letting me post online again)**

**i truly hope you're all safe from the heartbreaking Wuhan virus**

**see you next time **

**xx**


	18. Chapter 18

**disclaimer: I don't own the pjo characters**

**RECAP:**

**\- Annabeth is moving into Athena's penthouse**

**\- On moving day, Annabeth goes to the store to buy tape and sees Luke there who teases her about what he has planned**

**\- Annabeth & Percy had an argument - Annabeth kissed Percy but then later said she didn't want to be invovled with him romantically so Percy accused her of leading him on**

**\- Thalia demanded a favor from Annabeth**

* * *

Chapter 18

* * *

Annabeth's new room was bigger than her last one. Her bed had silk purple sheets and two fluffy, embroidered pillows sitting on top. The wallpaper was a sweet touch of yellow with little polka dots of white everywhere that looked gorgeous in the sun's glare through the window. Behind a hidden wall, there was a walk-in closet bigger than her bedroom back at her dad's. The hard wood flooring glowed from a recent polishing.

Athena's entire penthouse screamed wealth. The hallways were decked with mini-chandeliers lining the entire ceiling. The living room had lipstick red curtains that swung open to reveal an entire wall of windows that led out to a balcony overlooking the city skyline. The penthouse wasn't anything Annabeth remembered it to be when she last visited a year and a half ago. Athena must've renovated the place recently.

Annabeth couldn't deny she felt smug. Coming from her dad's home to Athena's was like climbing twenty steps up on the wealth ladder. She never really felt how much money Athena had. Maybe if she did, she wouldn't have spent half her time in school trying to dig herself out of a hole of insecurity. Everyone knew Frederick and Helen Chase weren't the ones paying for her education.

Then, she felt guilt. Why did her dad and Helen, both of whom work so hard everyday, get trapped in a life where they couldn't reap the same luxuries?

Annabeth wandered the halls of her new home. They finished the entire moving process near one in the afternoon, thanks to how early Athena insisted they start. Lunch was a quick break around two, then Athena buried herself in work without saying much of another word to Annabeth.

At the back of her mind, Annabeth knew she had to get unpacking soon. More importantly, she needed to get Percy's lamp out from her backpack. He needed the fresh air. There was still so much pent up anger in her from what he told her that morning.

The worst part was that Percy was inarguably right. Annabeth was still better off than he was, even if she was living with a woman she hated.

Annabeth dug through the kitchen cupboards for something to snack on. She ended up nibbling on the ends of carrot sticks she found cut into perfect strips in the refrigerator. She did the minute-long trip from the kitchen all the way back to her room where a mess on the floor was already forming from her disorganised unpacking.

Locking the door, she violently unzipped her backpack. Her hands wrapped around the cool, familiar metal of Percy's blue lamp. She set it on the window sill. She sat down nearby, admiring the way the sunset light sparkled off the metal. While Annabeth would never tell anyone, nor admit it to Percy, she had never seen a lamp more beautiful than Percy's. It suited him.

Her phone binged.

**Leo:** im downstairs

**Annabeth:** thank the gods.

Annabeth left her bedroom, walking to the living room and kitchen area where she instantly spotted Athena at the dining table.

Athena was wearing sweatpants, having changed out of her usual formal attire. One perfectly manicured nail rested on her lip as her eyes scanned the pages of a book on the table. She lifted her gaze when Annabeth entered, gently closing the book to stand.

"I was wondering if I could go down real quick for a walk around the block. I'd like to get to know the area a little bit."

Athena stared at her for a good few seconds before turning back to her book. "You have fifteen minutes tops. Then, you have to come back home and finish unpacking everything. I've scheduled a call with a friend of mine who is working at Harvard as an admission officer. He said he will help you put your application together so we cannot be late to the call."

Annabeth bit her lip to keep her outburst contained inside. "Okay. Thank you. I'll be back soon."

Hurriedly, Annabeth twirled into a warm scarf and yanked on a woollen jacket. She pulled on a pair of warm furry boots before pushing open the door and following through into the elevator. The second the gold-plated elevator doors opened on the first floor, Leo's face came into her line of vision and Annabeth went running to meet him.

"Woah," Leo almost fell over when Annabeth jumped into his open arms. "You're excited."

"I guess I'm just happy to see someone familiar."

"How is it? New room? Athena?"

Annabeth shrugged. "Okay. I'll survive. So far, Athena hasn't done anything too drastic except for scheduling a useless meeting with some Harvard admission officer."

"That's the most optimistic thing you've ever said in regards to Athena."

Percy indirectly forced that little optimism into her head when he yelled at her for being ungrateful that morning. Annabeth still thought it was unfair for him to blame her for his dad's murder but it was true when he said she was a lot better off than the genies would ever be.

Leo rubbed his arms through the coat he wore. "Do you want to step into the building? It's chilly out here."

As they moved into the penthouse building, Annabeth caught a line of black down Leo's wrist through his slightly lifted sleeve. She ignored the doorman's perturbed expression and grabbed Leo's arm. He squeaked in surprise as she pushed the sleeve up his arm to inspect the pattern from his wrist to elbow.

"You got a tattoo. You didn't tell me."

"I was going to tell you. I only did it an hour ago on quite an impulsive train of thought."

Leo's tattoo was an animal Annabeth couldn't pinpoint. She saw the mouth like a beak of a bird and fingers jagged like a witch. A cloak-like shadow fell over the animal's slim body, its head turned to the side to block her view of its face. For feet, the animal had a snake's tail that curled over Leo's wrist like a bracelet.

"I don't… what is that?"

"It's a creature from Greek mythology. I don't remember the exact name but it's a symbol of some minor god. As the story goes, this animal would scare away any nightmares so the sleeping person can have a peaceful night."

Instantly, Annabeth knew. Once, a few years ago, Leo mentioned fleetingly that he had nightmares of his mother who died in a fire. He didn't talk about her much and Annabeth didn't ask questions. She had never predicted, though, that he was still suffering from nightmares. In some twisted, cruel way Leo blamed himself for the fire that night. How? Annabeth had no clue.

"You never told me they were still going."

He shrugged. "I was embarrassed. My mom read a book to me about this animal before she died and I used to draw it as a child in art class. It used to help a lot but I don't have the time and patience anymore to keep drawing it. I figured it would be easier to get it permanently tattooed."

Annabeth leaned forward, her fingertips grazing his tattoo. His skin was warm under her touch. Her throat felt suddenly dry and she retracted her arm. "You should've told me, Leo. You should've told someone. Does your dad know?"

"Yeah. He was the one who suggested a tattoo instead of making a wish about the nightmares. After all, I don't want to run out of wishes before I graduate high school."

Annabeth's lips parted but she said nothing. A small part of her rumbled. She wondered if Leo had made any more wishes with Hazel than what he was telling her.

Leo turned over his arm. "It kind of makes me look like a macho man, doesn't it?"

"Oh gods."

He flexed his arm, admiring the tattoo in the yellow lighting. "It's like one of those tattoos that bad guys have in the movies. Do you think I could land a date for the Christmas Ball with this?"

"I thought you would've given up getting a date by now. It's three weeks away."

Leo winked. "Never."

"Ugh."

"How many have you made so far, Annie?"

"Two."

"Huh. You've got so many wishes left."

"I only have seven left. Besides, I'm honestly a little scared to make any more wishes. I've told you this before but ever since you made a wish to be fearless, you've been a little… off. You've always been crazy wild but… something's different. You seem completely fine with all the rules I'm breaking when just a month ago you warning me against getting close to Percy."

Leo hummed, crinkling his nose. He halted, and Annabeth turned to see the same doorman staring at them intently. They shifted away from the man, walking closer to the entrance of the garden owned by the penthouse.

"You're right, the wrong wish can completely change you but wishing to be fearless wasn't a wrong wish for me. But forget that, it isn't the point I'm making."

"What's your point, then?"

Leo lowered his voice and his expression turned sombre. "I've been thinking. It's a little unfair and unsupportive of me to be so against you and Percy. I'll admit, it's a little nerve-wracking knowing my best friend has fallen for a genie but I'm not the person to go out and tell anyone about it. If you want to open your heart to me, go ahead. I'll do everything I can to keep it a secret."

"Really?"

"If I can't stop you, I might as well get behind you. Maybe… maybe it'll be cool to actually meet him properly this time. I promise I won't run away screeching. But no playdates with Hazel and Percy. I'm not ready to break_ all_ the rules. We've broken enough. You more so."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, but she sent him a small, comforting smile. "Don't say 'playdates.' They aren't our pets. And I'm not in love with Percy, but thanks. Besides, everything with Percy is a bit of a mess right now. He and I got into an argument and haven't really talked since."

"What?"

"Actually," Annabeth chewed her lip as she spoke. "A lot has been going wrong and I'll be honest with you, I haven't told you everything. There's so much. After the talk with Thalia, it's gotten a lot scarier. If I get caught and kidnapped, it would be good that at least someone knows why I've… gone off the grid."

Leo quirked an eyebrow. "You've been talking to Thalia?"

Recounting everything that had happened the last few months made Annabeth's skin crawl. She started from the very beginning even if Leo already knew those details. It started with Percy recognising Luke's voice. Then it was following a beat up Luke to an abandoned museum where the golden genie temporarily put Annabeth's legs out of order. There were still some days where her knees would sting and buckle. She'd have to lay on the ground for an hour before she could stand again.

Annabeth told Leo all about how Thalia invited her over to reveal everything about the political riots in the genie homeland. And then to end it, in a small voice, Annabeth admitted to kissing Percy. Leo barely reacted to the news but he narrowed his eyes when Annabeth confessed to the argument they had.

When she finished, Leo wasn't saying much. He sat on her couch for a few minutes. "You said that Thalia demanded a favor from you in exchange for information. What's the favor?"

"Apparently Rachel wears a locket everyday. She hides it underneath her shirt to keep it out of sight. Thalia wants me to steal it and deliver it to her on Monday night. Today's Saturday. It doesn't give me a lot of time."

"A locket? That's not confusing at all."

"I know. It's ridiculous. I've gone through all the options of why Thalia could possibly want this locket but I don't even know what's in it. I feel like I have to do it, though. The way she spoke was freaky; it was threatening."

Leo's eyes darted. "I don't really know how to help."

"You don't have to. I'm not looking for advice either but I want someone to know everything."

"The secret is safe with me." Leo crossed his heart and zipped his mouth. "But why Rachel? She's already tormented."

"I know. I don't know why Rachel. It's always Rachel who suffers."

They lingered in silence for a couple heartbeats before Annabeth surged forward and threw her arms around his neck. She deflated in his warm, familiar hug. Her chest burned when she lifted her gaze towards the glass entrance of the building. The same genie who had been following her for so long was back and watching Annabeth through the glass. Annabeth tightened her grip around Leo. There was no getting rid of Luke or any of his followers: that was for sure. But what the hell did he want from her?

It boggled her.

**aoaoaoaoaoao**

Monday morning it was Frederick who drove Annabeth to school. She had expected it to be Athena but her mother was out of the door near six in the morning, going on about some meeting that was taking place virtually with a business client from Dubai. Annabeth stood in the overly plush lobby of the penthouse building until she saw her dad's happy-go-blue van pull up. The doorman gave her a dirty look when she launched herself through the main doors and dove straight into Helen's open arms from the passenger window.

"So," her dad started when she was settled in the back next to her brothers. "How's living with the she-devil?"

"She's so controlling, oh my gods. I can't buy any junk food so all I have to eat in the afternoon is kale chips. She works all the time and demands that I work with her. There was this meeting I had to sit through with a Harvard admissions officer after which she made me sit for three hours and make a plan of how I was going to start a non-profit to educate low-income communities on safe sex."

Bobby gasped. "She said the word!"

Matthew squeaked.

"That's good, isn't it?" Helen said, ignoring Bobby. "It's a good project to start and Athena has all the contacts to make it possible."

"It isn't what I'm passionate about," Annabeth said. She wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans. "I want to help people but in other ways. Athena already has plans on shutting down the organisation once I start university. How is that moral?"

Her dad said, "It's not but that's the way the process works. Just remember that in all this work with Athena, you're never going to get back your high school years so enjoy them. If you want, I can talk to her about it."

"Wow. That's rich coming from the person who didn't put a single argument forward when Athena demanded I move to hers."

"It was the right choice. We both know that financially it's Athena who can really take care of you and give you the resources you need to reach your dreams. Our poverty is a cage."

Helen slapped Frederick's arm. "Don't say it like that. We're not poor."

"Could've fooled me in this fourth-hand van with a broken GPS."

"We're not poor," Helen said again, firmly. "We're struggling but we're fighters. The day we can't pay our bills is the day I'll admit we're poor. But we can."

Bobby and Matthew both went rigid quiet. Annabeth caught their identical almond eyes trained on the ground, and she glanced at her dad and Helen in the front. She wondered if they had an argument over the weekend. Or perhaps, they got an opportunity they couldn't take because they didn't have the money. It wasn't the first time.

The van pulled up to the school building. Annabeth said her goodbyes quickly before shutting the car door behind her. Piper and Katie were already at the entrance and waved her over when they saw her. Annabeth smiled to herself as she bounded up the stairs. There was Leo too, and Frank by the lockers. More of her classmates walked onto the territory as the school bell rang to signal the start of classes.

Annabeth welcomed this breath of familiarity after moving in with Athena. What life would've been like maybe if genies didn't exist and all there was to worry about was grades, boyfriends, and acne.

Out of the corner of her eye, Annabeth caught Rachel's firetruck red hair in a tight braid. And suddenly reality hit her like a truck. She had to deliver the locket tonight.

**aoaoaoaoaoao**

The end of the school day came around quickly. Annabeth spent most of her classes watching Rachel, at least for the classes they shared, instead of making a move. It was true: Rachel wore a locket. It was hard to spot if you weren't looking for it. The golden chain was so thin it blended in with Rachel's skin. The outline of a small, circular locket underneath her shirt was barely noticeable.

Annabeth shared her last lesson of the day with Rachel and a few other friends. As soon as the school bell rang, Rachel got up from her desk and practically ran out before Annabeth could follow her out. Annabeth packed her own bag hastily.

"Where are you off to?"

"Just had to go ask Rachel about something. It's to do with being a school ambassador and all. I gave her a tour first now I've got make sure she's settling in right."

Piper nodded. "She seems to be fine. I mean, except for a few freak accidents."

"I think we expected a few accidents, though."

"Before you go," Piper interrupted. "My half-sister is having a birthday party on Friday. I don't really want to be there alone so I was wondering if you and Katie wanted to come along."

"Sounds fun. Text me the details, okay? I have to go catch Rachel right now."

"Will do!" Piper called out as Annabeth slipped out the classroom door. There were too many students in the hallway, slamming lockers shut and coagulating into groups. Rachel was no where in sight. Nonetheless, Annabeth shot down the hall with her backpack hitting her with every step. She prayed she was going the right way.

Annabeth spotted Rachel through a window in the art room.

The school had given Rachel an entire art studio to herself; it wasn't very big anyway. After a few weeks, Rachel had transformed it completely. She had painted all over the walls. Annabeth wasn't sure if that constituted as vandalism of school property, but even now Rachel was sitting on the ground, brushing over a gap of white in the wall until the patch was hidden by a layer of thick, dark paint.

It was difficult to explain how Rachel's artwork made Annabeth feel. It was a paradox to see Rachel smiling as she worked. Her lighter skin jumped out against the black background, and her red hair abnormally showed in the dim lighting like sparkly ink under the sun. Rachel had done the the ceiling in a dark grey, black with shadows to make it look like a three-dimensional cavern. Small structures littered the scene in a disorganised fashion, while silhouettes of hunched people stood nearby. In one corner of the room, Rachel had drawn red six-edge star on the ground.

Annabeth knocked on the door and slid inside."Hey! I saw you through the window and thought I'd drop in."

Rachel grinned. "Isn't my art studio such a magnet?"

Unsure, Annabeth nodded. "What are you painting here?"

Chewing her bottom lip, Rachel cocked her head to the side. "I thought it was really obvious. You know what it is. I know you know."

Annabeth pursed her lips as a sticky sensation clogged up her throat. "You're drawing the genie world."

"Did you know that the air is toxic for humans?"

"What?"

"In the genie world. The air is toxic for humans. It's no good for genies either, not anymore, but at least the magic in them is strong enough that they don't succumb to the air. Genies are always using magic subconsciously, just like humans breath without thinking. And that magic protects them from the air. The air kills humans. It takes a rock and drags it up and down the human's lungs. It squeezes the windpipe like we squeeze stress balls filled with sand. The air bashes the legs, the arms, and the human has no choice but to curl up on the ground and suffer while their body slowly turns to acid and drowns them from inside."

Annabeth opened and closed her mouth. Rachel was getting bolder with her connection to the genie world, and it was terrifying. Annabeth lowered herself to the ground. "Have you been there yourself? To the genie world?"

"Not personally, no."

"Then how do you know?"

Rachel beamed at her, leaning in closer to whisper. "That's a secret!"

"Oh."

"Can I tell you another secret?"

"What is it?"

"Promise you won't tell anyone."

Annabeth strung her pinky around Rachel's to seal the promise.

"I'm really scared," Rachel said. In the dim lighting, the thin chain around her neck glittered. With a start, Annabeth realised that the locket chain was made of real gold. Rachel went on. "Home isn't home anymore. The lamp might even be better than home."

"Your home is here among us, Rachel. You're human and you always will be. The lamp is your genie's home. Not your own."

Rachel stared at Annabeth, her eyes suddenly filling with tears. Her trembling bottom lip stuck out in a pout. "I can't remember what world is my home. Not anymore."

Annabeth felt a pang in her chest and she opened her arms for a hug. Rachel hurled herself towards Annabeth and buried her face in her light grey shirt.

"I was just wondering, Rachel, where is Thalia? I thought you guys were good friends."

"Thalia isn't at school today."

_Shocker, _Annabeth cursed. Thalia didn't show up because she wanted nothing to get in the way of Annabeth stealing Rachel's locket. Before Annabeth left Thalia's house that night, Thalia reassured her that stealing the locket was a good thing for Rachel. But Annabeth was starting to wonder where Thalia's intentions were coming from. Why did she care so much about Rachel's wellbeing? Thalia had never come off as much of a humanitarian.

Annabeth eyed the chain Rachel wore, inches away from her own fingers. She inched upwards on Rachel's back as if to stroke her hair comfortingly. Instead, she slowly adjusted her arms around Rachel to reach over and grab the locket's fastener. Her stubby, sweaty fingers struggled to get a grip on the tiny hooks.

Rachel thrust herself backwards, and Annabeth's hands flew off abruptly. The locket remained securely around her neck.

"You know, I missed you," Rachel said. "We used to hang out before, but now we barely talk. We should paint together right now! Remember, you gave me a tour of the school all the time ago?"

"It's been a while, yeah."

"We're too different," Rachel giggled. "Look at your white hair and my black hair. You're a princess. I'm a peasant."

Annabeth mulled over the hair color connections Rachel always made. Perhaps it was something related to the genie world. Some sort of discrimination based on hair color? Then again, Rachel _was _confusing her stark red hair but called it black. It wasn't reliable trusting Rachel's view of the world. She was mentally insane. Annabeth pushed the theory to the back of her head. Later, she could ask Percy; he always knew how to answer her questions about the genie world. If he remembered, that was.

Annabeth felt a pang in her chest. He didn't want to talk to her. Still.

The door swung open and Rachel's frazzled mother ran in. She wasn't surprised about the depressing art Rachel was painting on the walls. Instead, it was Annabeth that made Rachel's mother stop short.

"You're…" Mrs. Dare winced. "I'm so sorry. I recognise you as the one who gave us a tour all that time ago, but your name has slipped my mind."

"Annabeth Chase. Rachel and I haven't talked in a while so I was here catching up. We were… planning to hang out together. Maybe go get a milkshake or something."

Rachel hummed her usual song.

Mrs. Dare's eyebrows flew off her face. "Rachel, are you okay with that? Do you want to hang out with Annabeth?"

Rachel leaned into Annabeth again. Her voice came out monotoned and robotic. "Annabeth is my favorite."

Rachel must not open up to others often because Mrs. Dare's entire face lit up. She clapped her hands, her eyes glistening. "That sounds wonderful! Annabeth, why don't you come over to Rachel's place instead? I can drive you two and even make dinner if you want to stay for that."

"That sounds amazing. I'd love to."

Rachel sniffled. "I'm almost done with this painting. I want to go later. I want to finish this now. There's so much to paint and not enough time before the end."

"Not now, Rachel. You and Annabeth are going to have so much fun together. You can show Annabeth your new collections of crayons that Dad got you. Isn't that exciting?" Mrs. Dare lowered herself to the ground and rubbed Rachel's shoulders. She gave Annabeth a smile. The wrinkles that lined Mrs. Dare's mouth was enough evidence of how stressful life had become since Rachel's mental health deteriorated.

Rachel shrugged off her mother's hands. "I need to paint!"

Mrs. Dare wasn't taking no for an answer. She yanked the paintbrush out of Rachel's hands. Rachel squeaked in surprise, lunging for her paint tubs on the ground next to her before Mrs. Dare snatched those away too. She grabbed the back of Rachel's shirt and pulled her up to her feet. "Behave, Rachel. You're acting like a child."

"I don't want Rachel upset—" Annabeth began.

Mrs. Dare cut her off. "Nonsense. Rachel is ecstatic that she has a friend coming over. Rachel, remember how happy you were when Thalia came over to meet you last week? It'll be just like that with Annabeth."

"Thalia scares me sometimes," Rachel murmured. She wrapped her arms around herself, caving her shoulders in an effort to look smaller. Her gaze dropped to her feet where a drop of blue paint had fallen on her sneakers. "Thalia confuses me. Does she like me, or does she want to eat me?"

Mrs. Dare pulled her out of the room, and Annabeth awkwardly shuffled on. She wanted to turn around and leave, maybe even join Leo who was at his dad's mechanics shop. But she needed the locket.

Annabeth fell back behind Mrs. Dare who was still holding Rachel's wrist, trying and failing to make it look gentle. Tears hung in Rachel's eyes, leaving tracks on her pale cheeks. Her eyes were bloodshot with spidery streaks of black covering her entire iris. Rachel's innocent green eyes had turned into something that almost seemed demonic.

Annabeth sucked in a breath. She hurried on after Mrs. Dare who led them to a luxurious car in the parking lot. Rachel curled up in the backseat next to Annabeth. She kept her head buried in her knees. Her body quivered with every silent sob.

"Rachel," Mrs. Dare sighed from the front seat. "Please. Annabeth can't come over every day. Value this time with her."

A gut wrenching gurgle came out of Rachel. She straightened up, and tightened the seatbelt around her body before slumping back. Her frizzy hair framed her face like a lion's mane.

To no one's surprise, Rachel was giggling by the end of the ride. She was holding Annabeth's hand, drawing patterns on it and singing, when they pulled up to a gorgeous landed house with Victorian-style windows and a color palette of white, black, and grey.

"Psst," Rachel whispered when her mother left the car to unlock their front door. "Do you want to paint? I want to show you my art room."

"Sure. I'm excited."

Rachel grinned at her. For a moment, she looked normal. Her spidery eyes had gone back to an evergreen shade. Then, she giggled.

The Dare household was rich. It gave a similar feel to Athena's penthouse, except the penthouse was more modern. Here, the dark brown hardwood and plush red furniture gave off a more vintage look. Rachel led Annabeth up the stairs. To drown her loud singing out, Annabeth busied herself counting every paint stain on Rachel's jeans. She focused on the threads hanging off the end, and the way that the cloth was folded upwards because they were clearly too big for Rachel.

"This is my room." Rachel pointed to a door with mountains carelessly drawn on the white wood. She moved forward. "And this is my art room."

Annabeth peeked inside the room. It was exactly like what Rachel had turned her art studio at school into. The only difference was that the unpainted areas on the walls weren't plain white walls but sceneries of blue skies and rolling green hills. Was Rachel painting over her old artwork? Her old artwork was a lot more happy.

Mrs. Dare's head appeared from the bottom of the stairs. "Girls, I just a call from Rachel's dad. He's left his laptop here and needs it for a meeting within the next half an hour. I have to leave you guys alone if I am to make it in time. I'm so sorry."

"That's fine, Mom."

"Can you hold the fort, Rachel? Do you remember where I've put up all the emergency numbers? You won't freak out?"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "I know. You've been drilling all those numbers into my head since I was young. Even if I'm freaking out, I'll remember every digit."

Mrs. Dare gave Rachel a tight smile. "Don't keep painting the whole time. Annabeth is going to end up bored."

"I promise. Maybe Annabeth and I can finish up some homework first, then."

Annabeth turned back to Rachel, awestruck. The way she switched from sane to insane felt like someone tearing off a mask and putting it back on once in a while.

"So, homework?"

Rachel sighed and pushed open her bedroom door. Annabeth followed closely and dropped her back on the ground next to a canopy bed. She pulled out her books out of her backpack as Rachel tossed some cushions on the ground for them to sit on. Rachel turned on a rotating snow globe to place next to them. A beautiful melody of high-pitched bells rang from the globe.

Annabeth lowered herself onto the cushions, eyeing the locket bulging under Rachel's shirt. She had to grab it somehow.

"Social studies is my favorite subject," Rachel told Annabeth, tilting her head to the side with a smirk playing on her thin lips. "Every time I walk into the classroom, it's like my entire head clears. It's always been my favorite."

"Even over art?"

Rachel shrugged. A chunk of red curls fell from her shoulder and over her eyes. She cursed and pinned them up. "To tell you honestly, I only started loving art a year ago or something. Before that, it was more of a once a month hobby. Now… art feels like the only way I can express myself."

"Literally?"

"What?"

Annabeth rested her head on her hands. "You said art feels like the only way you can express yourself. Is it truly? I can express myself verbally. Through actions. But do you literally mean you are trapped inside your own body where the only way to tell someone about your condition is through art?"

Rachel gave her a crooked eyebrow. "I know I'm mentally challenged but I can assure you that I'm not trapped in my own body."

Annabeth bit her lip. Embarrassment swept over her cheeks. "Right. Sorry." She paused. "I do wonder, though. You only paint really depressing things. Sometimes you put genies in those paintings. Why don't you do something more happy? You can paint the clouds. Maybe a pond."

"I've been to the genie world," Rachel said nonchalantly. "Once you've seen it, you can't imagine painting anything else."

"I thought you said you had never been there."

"Funny, I don't remember telling you that." Rachel smiled.

Annabeth swallowed.

* * *

**hihi... long time no see. i'm sorry :( it's been kinda hard lately on my mental health which is why I couldn't write for a while. but then I wasn't feeling any better so i thought maybe returning to writing would help more than pushing it away. idk man, life is hard. I haven't talked about it to anyone either because it seems like everyone is going through a hard time right now.**

**on the bright side, i'm really excited for the next couple chapters! The chapters are starting to get longer from here on out... i'll try my absolute best to update biweekly (on Saturdays always) and if i do end up missing a day, i'll let you guys know via an author's note instead of leaving you all hanging :( **

**so i guess i'll see you two weeks from now!**

**ly all 3**

**leave a review! it's my first time writing this in a while so I might've been a little rusty.**


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